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| We join with Pope Francis in inviting all Christians to join together in praying the Lord's Prayer: Today, on the feast of the Annunciation, Pope Francis invites “the Heads of the Churches and the leaders of every Christian community, together with all Christians of the various confessions, to invoke the Almighty, the omnipotent God, to recite at the same time the prayer that Jesus, our Lord, taught us. In these trying days, while humanity trembles due to the thread of the pandemic, I would like to propose to all Christians that together we lift our voices towards Heaven,” he said.
We invite you to join with Christians around the world in praying the Lord's Prayer together today, Wednesday, March 25 7:00 AM ET US (12:00 PM Rome time), 6:00 AM Central US, and again at 12:00 noon in your own time zone. Please spread the word through your own networks and social media. |
| | | God’s Name Is Great among Nations
11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and the food for it may be despised. 13 “What a weariness this is,” you say, and you sniff at me, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in the flock and vows to give it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is reverenced among the nations. |
| | | By Rosemarie Wenner, Germany, Retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church and Geneva Secretary of the World Methodist Council
Today my calendar reminds me of a flight from Geneva to Frankfurt. I am not in Geneva though. Like many other people, I stay at home; home for me is in South Germany. The coronavirus thwarted my plans. Yet I am healthy while many people are sick – some to death – and I live in a country with good health care systems, under threat in the moment, but more reliable than in most other countries. I think of colleagues and friends around the globe and those for whom they care. COVID-19 is almost anywhere. We all live in an exceptional status with lots of ambiguities. Here are some examples:
Many people care for others in extraordinary ways. Physicians and nurses work almost day and night; congregations organize services for neighbors in need. And yet: some co-citizens don’t respect restrictions and put danger on themselves and others.
The German government acts timely and reasonable. Yet, like all other governments, it focuses almost exclusively on the protection of German citizens; humanitarian resettlement programs for refugees are suspended and there is no attention to those in refugee camps in Greece and elsewhere.
We praise the many blessings of digital means to stay connected and do business and even church. At the same time, the protection of personal data is under threat with wide-ranging risks for basic human rights.
In these and many other uncertainties and ambiguities I pray:
Merciful God, you are at work in your world, created out of chaos daily anew.
We come to you with our fear and despair as well as with our hopes and our creative actions.
Comfort us, strengthen us, guide us on our journey through the unknown.
Fill our hearts with compassion for those who are excluded from circles of care.
Sharpen our minds to analyze harmful conditions and guide us towards righteousness.
Christ Jesus – fill us with your unconditional love.
Holy Spirit – give us long breathing and surround us with peace – beyond our understanding.
Amen.
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| NCC NOW is a periodic, timely email with brief updates and news from the National Council of Churches.
Serving as a leading voice of witness to the living Christ in the public square since 1950, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) brings together 38 member communions and more than 40 million Christians in a common expression of God's love and promise of unity. |
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