Sunday Morning Devotion

Welcome to the Sunday Devotion. This is a special day. Every year in October we celebrate Children’s Sabbath, a day organized by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) to raise awareness of and offer opportunities to get involved in social justice to children all over the world. It is a day where people of many faith beliefs focus on the needs of children, and call God's adult children to act on behalf of God's younger children. We need to respond to issues of child poverty, education, health, hunger and nutrition, and homelessness. Join us in experiencing the heartfelt prayers and calls for justice provided through CDF’s worship resources. May these words of others touch your hearts and make you respond asking, “What can I do?”
Where does it hurt?
We gather this morning with listening hearts
to hear the voices of our children.
What do you hope?
We gather this morning with listening hearts
to hear the hopes of children and
to nurture the hope within each of us.
How can we help?
We gather this morning with listening hearts
to hear how we can help
in partnership with those who are hurting,
as ones who are hoping.
Who are you and why are you here?
We gather this morning as God’s people to worship God,
in confidence that God hears our hurts and hopes
before they are even on our lips,
and calls us, as God’s partners, to help
with a passion for justice and hearts full of love.
Come, let us worship God on this Children’s Sabbath day.
     (written by Shannon Daley-Harris)
Prayer for Illumination: O God, by your Spirit quiet our minds, center our hearts, and open our ears that we might hear the word you speak to us through the Word written and proclaimed. Help us to listen so deeply and truly that we might be prepared to go out and loudly live your Word in the world, raising a ruckus for justice, speaking boldly for love, for the sake of your beloved children. Amen. (written by Shannon Daley-Harris)
Prayer for Leaders: O God, as you anointed leaders and called prophets of old, lead us to recognize our true representatives and authentic leaders: men and women who love your people and can walk with them, who feel their pain and share their joys, who dream their dreams and strive to accompany them to their common goal. In your fire, with your Spirit, embolden and commission us to transform our political system, to serve your people, and to bring real glory to your name. Amen. (Philippines, 20th Cent., in United Methodist Book of Worship, p. 544)
Prayer For Children: Great God, Guard the laughter of children. Bring them safely through injury and illness, so they may live the promises you give. Do not let us be so preoccupied with our purposes that we fail to hear their voices, or pay attention to their special vision of the truth; but keep us with them, ready to listen and to love, even as in Jesus Christ you have loved us, your grown-up, wayward children. Amen. (From the Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Common Worship)
Prayer for the Courage to Do Justice
O Lord, open our eyes that we may see the needs of others;
open our ears that we may hear their cries;
open our hearts so that they need not be without succor;
let us not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong
nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show us where love and hope and faith are needed,
and use us to bring them to those places.
And so open our eyes and our ears that we may,
this coming day, be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen. (By Alan Paton)
Prayer to Take Action: O God, help us to recover our hope for our children’s sake. Help us to recover our courage for our children’s sake. Help us to recover our discipline for our children’s sake. Help us to recover our ability to work together for our children’s sake. Help us to recover our values for our children’s sake. Help us to recover a spirit of sacrifice for our children’s sake. Help us to recover our faith in Thee for our children’s sake. Amen. (In Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations on Loving and Working for Children by Marian Wright Edelman, founder of Children’s Defense Fund.)

         I Am Standing Waiting
I am standing waiting, waiting at your door,
one of hunger’s children from a billion poor,
though you cannot see me, though I am so small--
listen to my crying, crying for us all.
I stand at your table asking to be fed,
holding up my rice bowl, begging for your bread,
I stand at your schoolroom longing just to learn,
hoping that you’ll teach me ways to live and earn.
I stand at your clinic begging for vaccine,
I stand at your wash place where the water’s clean,
I stand at your office, beg the heads of state,
I am just a child, so I must hope and wait.
I stand in your churches, listen to your prayers,
long to know a God who understands and cares.
If there is a God, a God who loves the poor,
I’m still standing waiting, waiting at your door.
        (Hymn # 298, Community of Christ Sings. Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1931– . Music:Words © 1992 Hope Publishing Company. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-722962. All rights reserved.)

Benediction: Be strong and let your heart take courage. Go forth with the listening love of God to hear our children; Go forth with the tender love of Christ to heal our children; Go forth with the empowering love of the Spirit to seek justice with our children; On this Children’s Sabbath day and ever more. Amen.