Category / U.S. Holidays

man tattooed praying
by Karen Twinem

Pray for Your Leaders

Let’s pray for our leaders here in the United States on President’s Day. The Bible tells us that this is one of the responsibilities we have. And it doesn’t matter who the president is.

The Christian blog Connectusfund.org developed these prayers based on Philippians 2:

Philippians 2:3
Dear Father, I pray that as leaders, lead Your people, I pray that they will not do it selfishly, for personal ambition or vain conceit. I pray that You help leaders to realize that leading is really a task that requires them to serve. So, Father, raise up servant leaders, in Jesus’ name. Help them to work in humility. Make them selfless vessel of You, in Your image. Remove any selfish desires. Amen.

Philippians 2:4
Heavenly Father, thank You for our leaders. Right now, we pray for leadership guidance. Let every leader not seek to pursue their own interests, but to look at the interests of others. I pray that You help our leaders to identify the needs of Your people through divine wisdom and understanding. Lord, help them to not be ineffective leaders, but to act for the betterment of Your Kingdom. Amen.

This prayer for the American president come from a prayer book I received when I was confirmed on June 2, 1968. 

Almighty God, Rules of the nations, regard with favor your servant, the President of the United States. Grant him health of body and mind. Make him strong to bear the burdens of his high office. Give him wisdom and understanding, that under his leadership our nation may be directed in the ways of righteousness and peace.
Teach me and all Christian citizens to realize that rule and authority in our country are under you and that our president is your minister in the administration of his office. Keep us mindful of our obligation to support our president with fervent prayers and with ready obedience to the laws of the country.
Bless our president, I pray, and make him a blessing to our people, to the glory of your holy name. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

by Karen Twinem

Pray for Christian Unity

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is both Martin Luther King Day and the first day of a traditional time to pray for Christian unity. This is a perfect match for 2021.

The American Christian church is in sad shape as it deals with the issues swirling within it. Christian nationalism and systemic racism are the two most important.

So let’s meditate on this prayer:

Gracious Father,
we pray to you for your church.
Fill it with your truth.
Keep it in your peace.
Where it is corrupt, reform it.
Where it is in error, correct it.
Where it is right, defend it.
Where it is in want, provide for it.
Where it is divided, reunite it. 
We pray, oh God, for the oppression and violence that are our sad inheritance as Americans.
We give you thanks for the work of Christian preachers and witnesses, particularly for Martin Luther King Jr., to alleviate these burdens. 
Fill us with your spirit, where our community is divided by racism, torn by repression, saddened by fear and ignorance. 
May we give ourselves to your work of healing.
May we forgive each other and walk together in your light. 

A prayer by the Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud (1573-1645) and a traditional prayer for Martin Luther King Day were adapted to become the prayer above.

by Karen Twinem

Share Your Family History

How can we celebrate Memorial Day in a spirit of Christian mindfulness? First, we bring the presence of Jesus to our cookouts. Even if the crowd is smaller this year, we can offer love to all who gather.

Memorial Day is a good time to share your family’s history with the newest generation. Take a look at the old pictures you have. The picture above is from a family picnic 60 years ago. My Dad is holding me. My granddaughter is named after my mother, who is holding my baby sister.

Your family, like mine, may have a history of military service.

Praying over that service is a good aspect to the day:

Oh God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their lives in service of their country. Grant that through the passion, death and resurrection of your Son they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom and rejoice in you with your saints forever.

We lift up those who survived their service and still feel its impact in their emotions. May the peace of God come to these men and women.

We also lift up those who suffer most from war: the homeless, the orphaned, the hungry and the innocent. May they challenge us to turn from warlike ways and accept God’s gift of peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

by Karen Twinem

Confessions of a Civil Rights Reporter

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, I always reflect on the 9+ years I spent as a reporter in Tupelo, Mississippi, beginning in 1976. I covered just about everything, which means I covered civil rights, the Ku Klux Klan and local government’s response to protests.

Life in Mississippi was an example of intentional living because I felt that everything I did mattered: going to an integrated church (the only one in the city), having African-American friends and speaking against racism.

I had hope for Mississippi when I left. The people – white and black – were the most polite and hospitable I had ever met. Because there was so little to do, we gathered in each other’s houses and talked. An African-American young man was named Homecoming King at Tupelo High School.

Tupelo was a more progressive city than most in Mississippi. I spent most of my reporting time in the surrounding rural region that had the misfortune to be both Appalachian and Mississippian. The poverty was atrocious and generational. The ignorance was often profound.

Yet I was disappointed to read the book “Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta” by Richard Grant, an Englishman who moved to rural Mississippi. At least in the Delta, so little has changed and much has gotten worse for African Americans. I don’t think the intent of the book was to make one depressed, but it certainly did it for me.

The election of Barack Obama gave me hope. But, as the law goes, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. On this Martin Luther King Day, I continue to pray that our nation may break free of its chains of racism:

Lord, our God, see how oppression and violence are our sad inheritance, one generation to the next. We look for you where the lowly are raised up, where the mighty are brought down. We find you there in your servants, and we give you thanks this day for your preacher and witness, Martin Luther King Jr. Fill us with your spirit: where our human community is divided by racism, torn by repression, saddened by fear and ignorance, may we give ourselves to your work of healing.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen

From “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers” (which I still use even though I am no longer Catholic)