First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis (University City)

We continue praying for those around the world. This week we pray for the peoples of China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Give thanks for:

• The survival of Christians and Christian churches even though they have been persecuted.
• Those who struggle for human rights against great odds.
• Christians meeting in house churches and other growing congregations.
• Ancient Chinese pottery and works in jade.
• Chinese calligraphy and poetry preserved for centuries.

Pray for:

• The rural poor, and those forced to labor in the countryside.
• Refugees from North Korea.
• Women and female children, who do not have equal status or opportunity.
• Those suffering from forced sterilizations, abortions and infanticide.
• A spirit of compassion, tolerance and acts of love for new arrivals in Hong Kong from mainland China.
• A reduction in the amount of pollution and environmental damage.

For this prayer experience we’re using various resources from In God’s Hands: Common Prayer for the World. This resource was created by the World Council of Churches, edited by Hugh McCullum and Terry MacArthur, with most of the core materials collected by students at Eden Theological Seminary.

We continue praying for those around the world. This week we pray for the peoples of Chile, as well as the people of France and Germany.

Give thanks for:

• The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany and its families.
• The witness of ecumenical centers like the Taize community, which has revitalized worship, particularly among young people.
• Those working for tolerance and support for immigrants and refugees, so that hatred and violence based on ethnicity are eliminated.
• Chocolate mousse, croissants, French fries, sauerkraut and sausage.

Pray for:

• The struggle to unite east and west in Germany, that the gap between the rich and poor may decrease so all citizens are treated justly.
• Revitalization of the church amid increasing secularization and globalization.
• The environment, particularly in the eastern half of Germany, with its aging factories and lack of pollution controls.

For this prayer experience we’re using various resources from In God’s Hands: Common Prayer for the World. This resource was created by the World Council of Churches, edited by Hugh McCullum and Terry MacArthur, with most of the core materials collected by students at Eden Theological Seminary.

We continue praying for those around the world. This week we pray for the peoples of Ireland and the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Give thanks for:

• Ecumenical initiatives to bring Christians closer together.
• The work for justice and peace in which Christians join with others to imagine a better world.
• Centers of Christian renewal.
• Tartans, bagpipes and boys’ choirs singing in ancient cathedrals.

Pray for:

• Immigrants and asylum seekers who seek a better life in these countries.
• Churches which try to be faithful to Christ in the midst of secularization and change.
• Those who feel they have been left behind: the homeless and unemployed, those whose education seems inadequate or their skills out of date, and those who are long-term patients in mental hospitals.

For this prayer experience we’re using various resources from In God’s Hands: Common Prayer for the World. This resource was created by the World Council of Churches, edited by Hugh McCullum and Terry MacArthur, with most of the core materials collected by students at Eden Theological Seminary.

We continue praying for those around the world. This week, in addition to the people in Haiti, we pray for the peoples of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Give thanks for:

• Snow and skiing, woods and mountains, lakes and fjords.
• The white nights of summer and the bare winter light.
• Ecumenical and spiritual renewal movements that bring new intensity and depth to the Christian faith.
• A witness for justice and peace that may become a strong example to the rest of the world.
• The example of giving toward the development of other peoples.

Pray for:

• Efforts to overcome violence, racial/ethnic discrimination and the abuse of children and women.
• Refugees and migrants who seek a better life in these countries.
• Those churches trying to find new vitality, so they can be faithful witnesses to the Gospel.

For this prayer experience we’re using various resources from In God’s Hands: Common Prayer for the World. This resource was created by the World Council of Churches, edited by Hugh McCullum and Terry MacArthur, with most of the core materials collected by students at Eden Theological Seminary.