Litany of Hope and Promise

Note:  the final 5 lines at the end of each section come from Seasons of the Spirit.

God, there is so much worry and anxiety around the world.

Things seem so unsettled and unstable.

And yet the story of faith reminds us to hope for the future.

Help us to see the possibilities that always come with birth,

help us to be people of hope,

help us live out Your hope and justice.

Teach us to sing your praise, O God.

Teach us to sing with notes formed by hopes and acts of justice.

Teach us to sing with harmonies shaped by mercy’s wide embrace.

May all the earth join the chorus and dance to your beating heart.

God, through wise ones of old you show us a vision of what could be.

Through mystics and prophets of today you challenge our vision of the present.

Remind us of that vision of peace and justice.

Empower us to live as if we believed it was really possible.

Teach us to sing your praise, O God.

Teach us to sing with notes formed by hopes and acts of justice.

Teach us to sing with harmonies shaped by mercy’s wide embrace.

May all the earth join the chorus and dance to your beating heart.

God today there are many who wonder where their next meal will come from,

today there are many who look for work and income,

today there are many who look for meaning in the face of life's disappointments.

Soon we will sing of a child that is born.

Soon we will here tidings of great joy that shall be for all people.

As we tell the story and celebrate the birth, push us look into the face of the newborn,

and see there a world of possibility.

If indeed the birth of any child is Your message of hope for the future,

may we see that hope this Christmas.

Teach us to sing your praise, O God.

Teach us to sing with notes formed by hopes and acts of justice.

Teach us to sing with harmonies shaped by mercy’s wide embrace.

May all the earth join the chorus and dance to your beating heart.

God, centuries later we hear again the promise of Dame Julian that

All will be well, all will be well, all manner of things be well.

And part of us finds it to be unbelievable that such a promise could be true.

When our despair grows and the shadow threatens to overcome the light,

remind us that we are people of hope.

When we are tempted to find relief from the present in trying to recreate the past,

call us to be people of the future.

When life's music has faded, or become a funeral dirge,

Teach us to sing your praise, O God.

Teach us to sing with notes formed by hopes and acts of justice.

Teach us to sing with harmonies shaped by mercy’s wide embrace.

May all the earth join the chorus and dance to your beating heart.