NORTON META TAG

Showing posts with label gratitude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gratitude. Show all posts

26 January 2026

VERSE AND VOICE FROM SOJOURNERS 26JAN26

01 January 2026

Our Prayers for You in the New Year 30DEZ25

 

PRAYERS addressing our faith, love, gratitude, fears, anger, disgust, hopes, desires, thankfulness, doubts, forgiveness, salvation, guidance, sorrow, grief, joy and life in 2026 from some of the staff of Sojourners...

Our Prayers for You in the New Year


Dec 30, 2025

As we say goodbye (maybe even good riddance) to 2025, I’m reminded just how much prayer has served as an essential balm, refuge, and strong tower in the midst of such a trying and tumultuous year. Whatever 2026 has in store, I’m confident that we will need to flex our prayer muscles. Prayer centers us in God’s presence. Prayer prepares and equips us for courageous action. Prayer empowers us when we feel weak and encourages us when we feel demoralized.

I’m deeply grateful that we have a staff team that believes in the necessity of prayer, evidenced through the many short ones that they have shared below. My prayer as we sojourn together into 2026 is that our fervent prayers guide and embolden us to advance God’s reign of justice, peace, and steadfast love with greater urgency and courage.

“Lord, teach us to be still in your presence, filled with your love and compassion, and zealous with your joy for justice. May we find reservoirs of rest and double portions of holy discernment. Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken.” —Mitchell Atencio, senior associate news editor

“Lord, shatter the chains of fear which tighten around your people, especially those who work to protect your holy image, found through all things. Help us discern how your will can pierce our grief and paranoia during times of doubt. Let the weight of your spirit, and the fire of your light, gravitate all creation closer to the divine.” —Joseph Barry, donor services assistant

“Creative God, set before us the unadulterated vision of your kingdom on earth. Bring to the surface the prophetic imagination hidden deep within us. And ignite within us the joy and courage to live it out faithfully every day.” —Cortnie Brooks, digital education and outreach specialist

“Faithful God, thank you for your profound love shared with us through the joys and sorrows of the past year. Help us grieve what was lost while holding fast to hope and to your peace as we begin a new year. Grant us strength and courage to meet the challenges ahead, protect the most vulnerable among us, and help us to love one another deeply and to serve you with gladness and singleness of heart.” —Rick Chamiec-Case, director of donor engagement and human resources manager

“God of beauty, help us to see you when all looks ugly. God of hope, help us believe that good things are being done in and through our lives. Guide our steps to walk faithfully in joy, peace, and love, even when our feet are heavy and the way seems unclear.” —Josina Guess, associate editor

“God, in your infinite mercy, spread your hope, peace, joy, and love during this season and beyond. We pray that hearts will be softened and minds changed through our shared humanity, which can only happen through your power. Protect and encourage those who live in fear, and those whose lives hang in the balance. Show up in the light and shadows of our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.” —Rev. Moya Harris, senior director of programs

“God of new years and new beginnings, make us people who choose hope before cynicism and service before spectacle. Teach us to value proving our empathy over proving that we’re right. Make our hands be steadier than our fears and our love stubborn enough to outlast the news cycles.” —Tyler Huckabee, managing editor, sojo.net

“Light of the World, come lift the darkness out of our eyes. As we ponder what to make of these tumultuous times, keep our hearts closely attuned to what moves yours. Let us seek you in silence, crave you in chaos, and find you in loss. May your everlasting love meet us in the margins.” —Marjorie Rose T. Lim, social media and communications assistant

“God our companion, as we journey this year toward wholeness, set our feet on paths of justice. Expand our hearts to bear uncertainty and give our minds the capacity for complexity. May we witness you repairing what has ruptured, healing what divides us, and when our vision fails, may we trust you all the more.” —Judah R. Lopez, intern

“God, during these dark days we seek your light and your mercy. Give us strength to be your hands and feet in this turbulent world. Comfort us as we face injustice and the despair of so many. Help us to remember each and every person is made in your divine image.” —Cynthia Martens, senior director of circulation

“God, invigorate us with a vision for your peace where wolf lives with lamb, leopard lies with goat, and infants play near the cobra’s den. As we experience conflict, overwhelm, and brokenness, remind us that your love grows from a stump, seemingly dead, seemingly barren. There is hope.” —Matt Murphy, chief operating officer

“God, revive our cold and weary hearts in a world that makes cynicism so appealing. Give us courage to look deeply at all that is broken; show us how to grieve instead of just doomscroll. Be with us in the midst of this mess, and enliven us to the surprising ways you are already at work making all things new.” —Betsy Shirley, editor in chief

Rev. Adam Russell Taylor is president of Sojourners and author of A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved CommunityFollow him on Bluesky @revadamtaylor.

31 December 2025

VERSE AND VOICE 29DEZ25

 

supporter

17 December 2025

VERSE AND VOICE FROM SOJOURNERS 17DEZ25

 

11 November 2021

Daily Prayers for November 11 Originally called Armistice Day 11NOV21



We can thank God we are no longer at war in Afghanistan on Veterans Day, 11 NOV 2021.

 Daily Prayers for November 11

Originally called Armistice Day, November 11 is set aside to remember the 24.9 million military veterans in the United States.


O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you


as the day rises to meet the sun.


Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,


as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.


Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.


Song “O Lord, Hear My Prayer”


Listen, Lord, listen : not to our words but to our prayer.


Psalm 60:1 – 5


O God, you have cast us off and broken us : you have been angry; oh, take us back to you again.


You have shaken the earth and split it open : repair the cracks in it, for it totters.


You have made your -people know hardship : you have given us wine that makes us stagger.


You have set up a banner for those who fear you : to be a refuge from the power of the bow.


Save us by your right hand and answer us : that those who are dear to you may be delivered.


Listen, Lord, listen : not to our words but to our prayer.


Habakkuk 3:1 – 18 Revelation 13:11 – 18


Listen, Lord, listen : not to our words but to our prayer.


Charles Péguy said, “We must be saved together. We cannot go to God alone; else he would ask, ‘Where are the others?’ ”


Prayers for Others


Our Father


Lord, whether we face it or not, we do not live in isolation. Our words and our actions impact our communities. Help us to learn to speak after appropriate silence and reflection. Help us to recognize the work we can put our hands to so we are able to engage with it prayerfully and patiently. Amen.


May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;


may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;


may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;


may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

VETERANS DAY & Highly-Rated Nonprofits Dedicated to Veterans and Military Service Members 11NOV21


TODAY is Veterans Day, a day we recognize and give thanks for the service and sacrifice of our military veterans, retired and active duty. I think a vast majority of Americans are hypocritical about their gratitude to our vets and active duty military. Too many think telling vets and active military 'Thank you for your service' a couple times of a year is good enough. IT IS NOT. True gratitude to our vets and active military and to the families of those who have died defending our nation would be voting in every election. It would be providing the uniforms and equipment required by our deployed troops for them to be kept safe and to be able to carry out their mission without having to pay for any of it themselves. It would be cutting the waste and cost over-run fraud of the military-industrial complex so that charities benefitting vets and active military would not be necessary. True gratitude would be a fully funded and staffed VA medical system so no soldier or vet would have to petition the system for care and / or have to wait weeks or months for treatment. It would be cutting contracts with war profiteering contractors / mercenaries so soldiers are paid enough that their families do not qualify for SNAP / Food Stamps. TRUE GRATITUDE can be expressed by e mailing your representative and senators and demanding more be done to provide for our vets and active duty, and not just once a year. If this post expresses your views then cut & paste it in your e mails. If not, express yourself, but at lease send your e mails. AND SINCE CHARITIES for our vets and military active duty are necessary here is the list from Charity Navigator of 

Highly-Rated Nonprofits Dedicated to Veterans and Military Service Members

Americans love, respect, and honor our troops all year round -- in fact, people donate more than $2.5 billion annually to the over 40,000 American charities with military-related missions. Each November, we set aside a special time to honor the sacrifices our brave military veterans have made.  Originally called Armistice Day, Veterans Day falls on the anniversary of World War I. The holiday was renamed in 1954 to honor the service of all military members. 
 
Charity Navigator is honored to provide a curated list of highly-rated organizations providing a variety of services, including mental health and supportive services, financial assistance for food, utilities, and medical expenses. We hope that you will consider supporting one of the many organizations on the list below.
 
To nonprofits: If you are a 3- or 4-Star rated nonprofit providing support to active members of the military and veterans, please complete this survey for your organization to be reviewed for this list. We hope to greatly expand our list of charities presented.

Wounded Troops Services charities address the unique difficulties those injured in combat face.

Military Social Services charities provide programs addressing the needs of both active service members and veterans.

Military Family Support charities assist military personnel and their families through financial support, scholarships, housing, and more.