OPENING PRAYER
Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Psalm 68:4 ESV
THE REFRAIN
Let me see with the heart’s eye; let me hear through the heart’s ear. Give me the sensitivity to hear your Word, and the courage to speak it. Psalm 69, Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill
THE WORD OF GOD/A READING
Isaiah 40:1-5
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass, and all beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
THE REFRAIN
Let me see with the heart’s eye; let me hear through the heart’s ear. Give me the sensitivity to hear your Word, and the courage to speak it. Psalm 69, Psalms for Praying by Nan Merrill
PRAYER
Lord, comfort me and all inside our home. Comfort all the moms as the moon rises tonight – be especially near to the single moms, moms with restless children, moms who are weary and nursing through the night, moms who wonder how they will feed their children in the days to come, moms who worry for the safety of their children, moms of color who righteously fear the injustices in our system. Lord, generously grant all moms across the world and through all generations your loving presence tonight. Amen. – Rachel
CONCLUSION
The Collect At the Close of the Day (BCP, 121)Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.