Order of service praying for Pakistan, India and Srilanka

Morning Worship, Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, October 18, 2010
This order of service was prepared by Deenabhandu Manchala


Rebuilding lives, rekindling hopes

Invocation (sung in Sinhala) Repeat line by line after the leader
Namo, namo, mavumkarun We worship you, Creator
Namo, namo, midumkarun We worship you, Redeemer
Namo, namo, sudath(n)gurun We worship you, Holy Spirit
Namo, namo, tiyek(n)murun We worship you, Triune God

Vandagena bathi pem pamen We kneel in love and devotion
Devinduta passasum deemen to praise and thank God,
Devi saranaya, dan path(n)men to seek refuge, and
Karamuwa arayum samen God’s presence among us.

Praise and thanksgiving
God be praised at all times.
Our adoration we proclaim.
We seek God’s presence, and discover holy ground everywhere.
We long for God’s guidance, and find the Spirit in each other.
We know that God is good.
God’s goodness is our refuge and our hope.

In the vastness of your purposes, O God,
We celebrate the risky smallness of our part.
In the holiness of your touch,
We celebrate the fragile fingerprints of human hands.
In the greatness of your salvation,
We celebrate the fumbling of our ideas.
In the light and knowledge of all you are and all you do,
We wait, we wonder and we rejoice.

In the stillness and the moment,
We build a bridge of adoration.
In the glory of our diversity,
We forge a bond of hospitality.
In the work we do this day,
We weave with God’s splendid tapestry
Amen.

Hymn: Bless and keep us Lord in your love united in Thuma Mina 195

Readings : II Timothy 3: 14 – 4:4 (Read in Sinhalese)
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

Reflection by Shanta Premawardhana

Prayers
Gracious God, as we come together in thanksgiving and prayer before you, we pray for the sub-continent. We pray for Sri Lanka – a nation that has bled for several decades, and continues to bleed which we come to know through the pain and agony of millions of silenced and displaced people, whose lives are constantly threatened, abused and destroyed. We pray for Pakistan which is facing fragmentation at multiple levels and which seems to have become a home for terrorism, even as millions of its people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. We pray for the nearly 400 million hungry people in India that we often hear about as a rising economic power. Grant peace and life to the people of these nations and to all us.

Khuda ya Rahem kar (to be sung after each prayer - No: 45 Thuma Mina)

Compassionate God, we live in a world that is constantly under the spell of something tragic and shocking, which distracts our attention and response quickly from one to the other, we remember today the forgotten victims of the tragic natural disasters that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds and thousands of people – of the floods in Pakistan and India. We pray for the vulnerable – the rural and urban poor, the destitute children and the aged. Grant help, strength and hope that they may see the light of your salvation.

Khuda ya Rahem kar

Loving God, who wants us to reciprocate your love for us by loving one another, we thank you for giving us the capacity to celebrate our differences. We recognise amidst us the causes and forces of division, hatred, suspicion and selfishness that operate through the phenomena of religious fundamentalism, political manoeuvrings and economic injustice. Grant wisdom to the people of these nations and everywhere that they may realise that in your love and wisdom you have made us all, the way we are.

Khuda ya Rahem kar

Merciful God, we remember millions of hungry, homeless and malnourished people of these nations and everywhere even as their governments strive hard for place in the world market. Have mercy on these millions today. Rekindle love and justice in the hearts of people. Grant wisdom to the leaders to realise that their fulfillment is possible only in their ability to protect the vulnerable and not in making the powerful invulnerable.

Khuda ya Rahem kar

God of life, we pray for the churches and Christian communities in these countries which exist and seek to witness as fragmented minority communities, often in extremely hostile situations. We thank you for their courage and commitment. We also pray that you inspire them to seek unity among themselves and with all people of goodwill, with people of other faiths, and with people’s initiatives for peace, justice, human rights, environmental protection so that the world may believe that you have ordained life, life for all in love and human togetherness. Amen

Hymn: Help us accept each other in Thuma Mina 224

Benediction
In the light of the resurrection despair is always premature.
God has a project in today’s events.
In paths we have not known, God leads, turning gloom into hope.
May the triune God accompany us in this journey of hope today and the days to come, Amen.