Prayer on International Day of Peace

On International Day of Peace, we pray:

Some trust in governments
and some in borders,
but we trust in God,
who invites all people to live in peace.

For the earth belongs to God,
and all creation is in God's care:
land and waters, plants and animals, sky and soil
declare the hospitality of God.

The world belongs to God,
and all who live in it.
We belong to one another as siblings,
all of us children of God.

With gratitude for the home God has made for us on this planet, we pray:
Send your Holy Spirit
to strengthen our resolve
to strive for communities
where foreigners become neighbors
and strangers become friends.

Revive our desire for the reign of Christ,
who releases prisoners
and liberates the oppressed,
who frees the world from greed
and proclaims God's peace.

Make justice roll down like a river
and righteousness flow like an everlasting stream. Amen.

-Isaac Villegas, 2019