Gracious and Good God,

We come to you at your invitation. You are our God and we, gratefully, are your people, your adopted sons and daughters, your children. In you, we are forgiven, restored, companioned, secured and beloved. Praise be to you, our Lord God, the Almighty one.

We come to you with thanksgiving. Thank you for the continuing faithfulness of our partner churches in Africa, for the development of vaccines for protection against COVID-19, and for the restoration of health of so many in our midst. We rejoice in the many glimpses of your grace and goodness made evident every day.

We come to you with our challenges … We ask for your guidance as we attempt to address the racism and judgmentalism in our own hearts and in our world. We ask for your wisdom as we seek to understand how to live according to your will during this post-pandemic world to which you have called us.

We come to you with our burdens… We are mindful of all those affected by disasters such as the explosion in Lebanon, the volcanic eruption near Goma and the flooding in South Sudan, by economic declines and loss of employment caused by the pandemic, and by the discovery of the graves of children here in Canada. We seek your comfort for the many families who have lost loved ones.

We come to you with our hopes and desires… We ask that you continue to bless the work of Canadian Baptist Ministries and the Baptist Churches in Canada and around the world. Keep our colleagues in Africa and around the world safe, healthy, and joyful. We desire to be organizations and people who demonstrate your goodness in all aspects of our lives that those around us will come to know you.

And we come to you with what we have… Receive our loaves and fishes, our talents and resources, our time and energy. Multiply and augment all that we have that your glory will manifest in this world that you so dearly love. Continue your creative work in us, through us and in spite of us that we might fully become the people you intend, people worthy of being called your children.

In Jesus’ name, amen.