The third Sunday in January is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, and the Office of Social Justice (OSJ) is pleased to offer resources for your church to honor the day. Synod has encouraged Christian Reformed churches to commemorate the day’s significance (Synod 1981 and Synod 1995). OSJ would like to help churches commemorate the sanctity of human life in ways that are sensitive and mindful of the impact abortion has on society, our churches, and members of our congregations. As you prepare to commemorate the day, we invite you to use the prayer below and explore more worship resources on our website.
As children of God, we come before our Father in gratitude for life.
Spirit of sustenance, we thank you for the breath in our lungs. We draw in your breath of hope and exhale praise that comes from our childlike hearts. Jesus, we draw close to you like a child, expectant that you will enter our hearts and dwell with us there.
King of heaven, we enter your courts with thanksgiving for both the born and unborn of your family. We bring before your throne, every child. As your family, we must admit your family hurts. Not all your children experience what it is to breathe. Not all your children will exhale praise.
For each one of these, we have nothing but our grief and lament as our sacrifices. Please take our tears and fill us with your faith, grace, and understanding. We weep for the individual and societal circumstances that force women and men to make the hard choice to end a pregnancy. Take our cries and fill us with your steadfast love and active compassion. We find fault with the idea that only select lives are worthy of your gift of life. Take our anger and fill us with a creative imagination that leads to peace and solutions for flourishing families.
Psalm 8:2 says, “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” We pray you might hear our praise, and that your kingdom of forgiveness would come, delivering us from the evil one. On behalf of your world, God, we lift up our hearts in trust that you are the author of life. We wouldn’t want it any other way.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
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