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Peace Prayer Ceremony

Unitarian Fellowship of Houston
1504 Wirt Road Houston, Texas 77055

December 24th, 2011 at 1pm

"Peace Prayer Ceremony"

This is a ceremony using Prayers of Peace from several traditions and religions and philosophies, each of which is dedicated to the idea of Peace on Earth. Their Peace Prayer is one thing all these groups have in common.

In this ceremony one of the Peace prayers is read aloud and then the crystal singing bowls are played for a few moments, sending the intention of the Prayer into the Uni-Verse and into Mother Earth. Then another Prayer is read and the bowls are played again. Then another Prayer, etc., until all the Prayers are read and followed by the sounds of the crystal bowls.

Everyone is invited and welcome to this free ceremony.

THE FOLLOWING PRAYERS ARE SCHEDULED TO BE READ:

Born to Manifest the Glory

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?"
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are born to manifest the glory of God that in within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

By Marianne Williamson

The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury…pardon.
Where there is doubt…faith.
Where there is despair…hope.
Where there is darkness…light.
Where there is sadness…joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console.
To be understood, as to understand.
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving, that we receive.
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned.
It is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.

Baha'i Prayer for Peace

Be generous in prosperity,
And thankful in adversity.
Be fair in judgement,
And guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness,
And a home to a stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light
Unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of light to the body of humankind
A dew to the soul of the human heart,
And a fruit upon the tree of humility.

Buddhist Prayer for Peace

May all beings everywhere plagued
with sufferings of body and mind
quickly be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid,
and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power,
and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless,
fearful wilderness-
the children, the aged, the unprotected-
be guarded by beneficial celestials,
and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

Christian Prayer for Peace

Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,
for they shall be known as the Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
To those that strike you on the cheek,
offer the other one also,
And from those who take away your cloak,
do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
And of those who take away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you
do so to them.

Hindu Prayer for Peace

Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to Light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.

Oh Lord God Almighty, may there be Peace
in celestial regions.
May there be Peace on Earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and
plants bring Peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring Peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate Peace all
through the world.
May all things be a source of Peace to us.
May thy Peace itself bestow Peace on all,
and may that Peace come to me also.

Jainist Prayer for Peace

Peace and Universal Love is the essence
of the Gospel preached by all Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is
the Dharma.
Forgive do I creatures all,
And let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity.
Know that violence is the root cause of all
miseries in the world.
Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage.
"Do not injure any living being."
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable
way of spiritual life.
A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be,
can always be superseded by a superior
one;
But no weapon can, however, be superior to
non-violence and Love.

Jewish Prayer for Peace

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into
plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation-
neither shall they learn war anymore.
And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of
the Lord of Hosts has spoken.

Muslim Prayer for Peace

In the name of Allah, the beneficent,
the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who
has created us and made us into tribes and nations.
That we may know each other, not that we
may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards Peace, do thou
also incline toward Peace.
And trust God, for the Lord is the one that
heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, most gracious are
those who walk on the Earth in humility,
And when we address them, we say,
"Peace."

Native African Prayer for Peace

Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot
evade to tie any knot;
The Roaring Thunder that splits mighty
trees;
The all-seeing Lord up on high who sees
even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on Earth.
You are the one who does not hesitate to
respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of Peace.

Native American Prayer for Peace

Oh Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my
pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds, and to
Mother Earth who provides for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to
love, to respect, and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with Peace of mind.
Let us learn to share all good things that you
provide for us on this Earth.

Shinto Prayer for Peace

Although the people living across the ocean
surrounding us, I believe are all our brothers and sisters,
Why are there constant troubles in this
world?
Why do winds and waves rise in the oceans
surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon
puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.

Sikh Prayer for Peace

God adjudges us according to our
deeds, not the coat that we wear;
That truth is above everything,
But higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we
loveth,
And only victory endures in
consequences of which no one is
defeated.

Zoroastrian Prayer for Peace

We pray to God to eradicate all the misery
in the world;
That understanding triumph over ignorance;
That generosity triumph over indifference;
That trust triumph over contempt;
And that truth triumph over falsehood.

Mayan Prayer to the Seven Directions

From the East, House of Light
May wisdom dawn in us so we may see all things in clarity.

From the North, House of Night
May wisdom ripen in us so we may know all from within.

From the West, House of Transformation
May wisdom be transformed into right action so we may do what must be done.

From the South, House of the Eternal Sun
May right action reap the harvest so we may enjoy the fruits of planetary being.

From above, House of Heaven
Where star people and ancestors gather, may their blessings come to us now.

From below, House of Earth
May the heartbeat of her crystal core bless us with harmonies to end all war.

From the Center, Galactic Source, which is everywhere at once,
May everything be known as the Light of Mutual love.

Oh Yum Hunab Ku Evam Maya E Ma Ho
(Oh Great One, Giver of Movement and Measure, All Hail the Unity of Mind and Measure)

Maori Translation of the Lord's Prayer

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and shall be,
Father and Mother of us all, loving God in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the Universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings.
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.

Let There Be Peace on Earth

Words and Music by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that is meant to be.
With God as Creator, family all are we.
Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my joyous vow:
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

Invocation of the New Millennium

Let us invoke our ancestors, both spiritual and
genetic.
For we are the sole reason for their existence.
Let us invoke the children, and their children.
For they are the sole reason for our existence.
Let us invoke the mountains and rivers and this
great Earth, and acknowledge our intimacy
and interdependence with all things sentient
and insentient.
Let us reflect that the gift of life is more fragile
than the dewdrops on the tips of the
morning grasses.
Then let us vow.
Let us vow to heal and nourish.
Let us vow to love and share.
Let us vow to alleviate suffering and bondage.
Let us vow to manifest Peace and Joy with
wisdom and compassion.
May this century be known to future generations
as the beginning of
The Great Millennium of Endless Spring.

Servant Prayer

When I am hungry, give me someone that I can feed.
When I am thirsty, show me someone who needs a drink.
When I'm cold, give me someone to keep warm.
When I grieve, give me someone to console.
When my cross grows too heavy and its weight I cannot bear,
And when I need someone to hold me and it seems no one is there
To lighten up my heavy load, give me someone who deserves
To be loved, just as I do,
Give me someone, someone I can serve.
When I need some time, let me sit with one for a while.
When my heart is heavy, let me find someone to make smile.
When I'm hurt, give me someone that I can praise.
When I need to be looked after, show me someone I can raise.
When I need some understanding, show me someone who needs mine.
When I think of myself only, draw my thoughts to those who are kind.
When I'm so cold, show me someone who's in need.
And when my eyes are blind to what is holy, let me see the Christ in each one I feed.
Let me see the Christ in each one I feed.

Aramaic Lord's Prayer

O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, you create all that moves in light.
Focus your light within me - make it useful: as rays of a beacon show the way.
Create your reign of unity now - through my fiery heart and willing hands.
Your one desire then acts with mine, as in all light, so in all forms.
Grant what I need each day in bread and insight: subsistence for the call of growing life.
Loose the cords of mistakes binding me, as I release the strands I hold of others' guilt.
Don't let surface things delude me, but free me from what holds me back from my true purpose.
From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do,
The song that beautifies all, from age to age it renews.
Truly - power to these statements - may they be the source from which all my actions grow.
Sealed in trust & faith,
Amen

Prayer to Cosmic Birther

O Cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration
Soften the ground of our being
And carve out a space within us
Where your presence can abide

Fill us with your creativity
So that we may be empowered to bear
The fruit of your mission

Let each of our actions bear fruit
In accordance with our desires

Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share
What each being needs to grow and flourish

Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us
As we release others
From the entanglement of past mistakes

Do not let us be seduced by that which would
Divert us from our true purpose
Rather, illuminate the opportunities
Of the present moment

For you are the ground and the fruitful vision
The birth, power and fulfillment,
As all is gathered and made whole once again

The Great Invocation

From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Light streams forth into the minds of men.
Light descends on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Love streams forth into the hearts of men.
Christ is on the Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Purpose guides the little wills of humankind –
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of mankind
The plan of Love and Light works out
And seals the door where evil dwells.

Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth
Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth
Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth

--- http://www.ufoh.org/