God of All Nations,
as a new day dawns,
we ask your blessing
on all the peoples
as we seek to live in unity,
amity,
equality,
and good-will with each other.
Holy One,
may we ever deepen the bonds of honor,
our ties of kinship,
our thirst for wisdom,
our devotion to integrity and truth.
Make us, O Great Creator,
a people who stand for freedom
tempered by responsibility;
who stand for independence
tempered by love for neighbor;
and who protect the least among us
that we be resolved to uphold
the cause of love
in service to community.
Help us form a more perfect union,
establish justice,
ensure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty
for all, now and in the future,
by carrying the light of truth and loving-kindness
that You, O God,
have planted within each of us.
Endow us, Holy One, with a double measure
of humility, kindness, and honesty
that we may examine ourselves
and hold ourselves to the highest standards of justice for all.
May we ever give you thanks,
O Shepherd of Our Souls,
and seek your guidance
as we seek the good road of faith, reason, and peace.
Send out your blessing, O God,
on all who call upon your name,
and grant your comfort and relief
to all for whom we pray.
Amen.
The Rev. Leslie Scoopmire is a writer, musician, and a priest in the Diocese of Missouri. She is rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Ellisville, MO. She posts daily prayers, meditations, and sermons at her blog Abiding In Hope, and collects spiritual writings and images at Poems, Psalms, and Prayers.