Here are some ways to focus your
congregation's worship on hunger ministry during specific parts
of the service. You may copy these prayers and litanies and
paste them into your worship bulletin or other resource in your
congregation, as long as the source (see
information below) is cited.
L: In this season of vineyard labor, let
us call to mind the prophet's vision: If you pour yourself out
for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
C: Then you will call, and the Lord
will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
[Isaiah 58:9]
L: Let us pray. O God, you are the
true bread that comes down from heaven and gives life; hear,
now, the prayers of your people for the hungers of this world.
C: God, have mercy upon us.
L: We remember all who labor but go
hungry to their rest; We remember those who cannot find work for
their hands; We remember the children who go unfed, and we ask:
C: Lord, have mercy.
L: We remember all who hunger and
thirst for justice; we remember the victims of oppression; we
remember those who have placed their trust in you, and we ask:
C: Christ, have mercy.
L: We remember all who live upon the
bread of affliction; we remember those whose tears are their
food; we remember the homeless and the poor, and we ask:
C: Lord, have mercy.
L: As we remember the suffering and
want of others, we acknowledge our own hunger and need.
C: When we are empty of hope, fill us;
when we are worn from care, renew us; when we fail to love,
forgive us.
L: Bring us to your table and feed us
with bread for the journey. Strengthen us and gladden our
hearts; that we might taste and see your goodness, that our
lives might be as bread that is broken and wine that is poured,
and that we might work in hope for the day when all are fed.
This we ask in the name of Christ;
C: Amen.
Christ Jesus, you look with favor on
any gift given from the heart. You praised the generosity of the
despised Samaritan. You rejoiced when Zaccheus turned from
grasping wealth. You marveled at the widow who shared out of her
poverty. You blessed the apostles who had neither silver nor
gold, but the desire to share your healing power. Teach us
gratitude for the gifts of others and for our own; that,
respecting the variety of gifts, we might ever grow in our
ability to give as well as to receive. In the name of God, giver
of every good gift; Amen.
O God, our strength, our might, and
our song: with joy we shall draw water from the wells of
salvation, for so you have promised. With the woman of Samaria
and all who seek the waters of life, we thirst. Give us the
power to draw from the deep well of your grace, that we might
pour and serve refreshment not only for ourselves, but for all
people. This we ask through Jesus Christ, who honors every cup
of cold water given in his name. Amen.
The Day of Pentecost (A, C)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who
gathers the whole world into the Spirit of your Son. You have
given us food for another day: blessed be God forever! We beg
you to pour out food for the needy, that all peoples and
languages may praise your name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost III (C)
O God of life, through Elijah and
Jesus you gave life back to the dead sons of the widows. We
praise you for the life you give us at the table this day. Keep
us from death, and use us, we pray, to give life to all who are
dying, for your Name's sake. Amen.
Pentecost IV (A)
O God, you have borne us on eagle's
wings from death to life. You have set this food on our table;
we eat and are satisfied. Blessed are you, our wings toward
life. Gather up all those who are hungry or helpless or
harassed, that none may fall by the way, but all may be saved by
your grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost IV (B)
O God the Creator, out of the seed you
grow a tree; out of nothing you bring this meal. We honor your
power, we praise your might. Create in us a new spirit, that we
may bear fruit for other and so share our life with the world,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost V (A)
O Lord of hosts, you save even the
sparrow who falls from the tree, and you save us with this food.
Sing to the Lord! We praise the name of the Lord! Now, O
merciful God, save also all the needy from the hands of the
world's evildoers that all may praise your name; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost V (B)
O God, out of the whirlwind you have
spoken grace. You have laid the world's foundations, and you
have set this table with food. Blessed be God for ever! By that
same power create human society anew, with justice as its
measurement and compassion for a cornerstone, through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Pentecost VIII (C)
O God, who orders the cycles of nature
and sends the rain and sun to earth that our food may grow and
we may thrive, we praise you for this meal. We beg you, O God:
be midwife to the whole creation as it groans in childbirth, and
draw all the needy out of their suffering into new life; through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost X (C)
O Father, with your Son we pray: give
us each day our daily bread. We have asked for bread, and you
have provided. Hear us now, as we beseech you with Abraham and
with Jesus for the life of all the world, that none may die, and
that all who ask may be given daily bread, to the glory of your
Name. Amen.
Pentecost XIII (B)
O God our Wisdom, you have called us
to your table, and you feed us with your food. We praise your
gracious hospitality to us. Fill us with your Spirit that,
seeing in our food your life, we may freely share it with
others, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost XIII (C)
The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,
and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your
hand, and satisfy the needs of every living creature. And now, O
Lord, we pray: Save the weak and the orphan; defend the humble
and needy; rescue the weak and the poor; deliver them from the
power of the wicked. Alleluia, O Lord. Amen.
Pentecost XVI (A)
O God, the Author of life, you have
written grace into the universe, and you have blessed us with
your benefits. We praise you for life, for freedom, and for
food. We remember before you those who suffer in spite of your
power: May the world's authorities honor all the world's people,
and so honor you, the Beginning and the End of all. Amen.
Pentecost XIX (C)
O God, the God of both the rich man
and poor Lazarus, come with the Spirit of your Son to our table
today. Bless our meal with your presence, and bless us too, that
seeing the poor at our doorstep we may share our food with them,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost XXI (B)
O Lord God, you have been gracious to
us; you have given us plentiful food. We praise you, faithful
God. We pray now for the poor who are trampled, for the needy
who are turned aside: bless also them with food, we pray,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pentecost XXII (C)
O God of all ages, like Jacob of old
we beg for your blessing. Touch us with your gracious hand that
through this food we may have life. We praise you for all your
gifts to us. Now hear us, as with the bothersome widow we beg
and plead with you: hear the cries of the poor, we pray, and
vindicate them speedily, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Pentecost XXV (B)
O Lord God, you miraculously fed the
widow of Zarephath, and daily you feed us at this table. We
praise your mercy and love. From our abundance may we be willing
to give everything we have to those who are poor in our midst.
Amen.
We praise you, God, for daily food,
for love and health and all that's good. We beg your gifts for
all the poor, that pain and want will be no more. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and
let these gifts to us be blessed. Blessed by God, who is our
Bread; may all the world be clothed and fed. Amen.
Source:
These litanies and prayers are taken from "Pour Yourself Out for
the Hungry: A Resource for Worship," ©1993 Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (currently out of print but reproduced here in
its entirety).
Table prayers have been selected and
reprinted from "Blessing and Beseeching: Prayers on Food and
Hunger" (LCA, 1985-1987) by Gail Ramshaw. |
