Dr. Martin Luther King

Allow me to share these words with you in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Prayers of the People

Second Sunday After the Epiphany

Martin Luther King Day 2012

We thank you O God for those who, in every generation, have brought this world hope for justice and freedom for all without regard to those barriers which so often separate us one from another; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For Abraham and all the mothers and fathers of faith down through the ages who had the courage to look to heaven for hope; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For your servant Moses, who led the Children of Israel from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land and gave us the Law through which we learn to love you and love one another; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For the prophets and wise men and women of every age who fearlessly proclaimed the message of freedom from oppression and obedience to God’s Law; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For the founding Fathers of this nation who brought forth on this land a new nation dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that freedom shall ever reign from shore to shore and that the People are sovereign; Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer

For Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, who proclaimed an end to slavery and gave his life for the freedom of all; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For those women and men who brought universal suffrage to all, and for those who continue to work for full freedom and equality for women and men everywhere; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For Dr. Martin Luther King whom we remember this day, for his Dream of a Land where Freedom rings from every mountain and hill across this good land, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

And above all for your son Jesus Christ, for the gift of his life, for the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life, for his compassion and love for all without regard to orientation, gender, class, race, ethnicity or language and for his command that we love one another, may Jesus’ church become and remain “A House of Prayer for ALL People”; Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Celebrant; We thank your for your servant Dr. Martin Luther King who led your children to become free at last, Grant that your church, may make no peace with oppression, but raise up prophets in every generation, so that we may come to love and respect the dignity of every human being.