Daily Prayer

July 4, 2021 A daily prayer from the New England Conference The clergy and laity of the New England Conference are sharing a daily prayer based on the Revised Common Lectionary for the week. You are welcome to use these in worship or in your own devotions. Today's Prayer Holy and Gracious God: we celebrate the day in our history when our forbearers declared that we were no longer subjects of a monarchy but free and independent. Help us, O God, to remember that only through our dependence upon your grace are we truly free. Help us to claim the good news of freedom through Christ: Freedom that shatters bonds of greed and shame; Freedom that dispels the illusion of self sufficiency; Freedom that delivers us from captivity to falsehood, Freedom that breaks down walls of separation. Freedom that opens our hearts and hands; Freedom that love ourselves and our enemies; Freedom that sees you in everything you made; Freedom that releases us from fear, for love. On Independence Day, remind us, O God, that we are free — when we live in an interdependent web of life; when we embrace true unity in all its diversity; when we claim the truth that justice and liberty are for all; when we break the bonds of injustice that grip our souls, and when we are able to see in ourselves that which we see so well in others. Make us signs of your presence, and help us to extend your reign of love, mercy, justice, compassion, and peace. We ask this through Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen. By Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar Scriptural Passage: Mark 6:1-13