Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. - Luke 5:5-7 MSG
Over the New Years holiday Kiev was struck by explosions and Russian forces report dozens of soldiers have died in an attack on a Russian occupied building in Makiivka.
We pray continuously Lord:
Lord of Hosts,
Where war and bloodshed are happening in Ukraine, cause them to stop. May aggressors cease and may healing begin so that peace can take root. Protect the innocent and the vulnerable. And may your light shine in dark and obscured places, revealing truth about why this war is even happening.
Title 42, enacted in 2020 allowed the CDC to ask for the deportation of asylum seekers due to COVID-19 concerns. The Supreme Court at the end of December kept the Biden administration from ending Title 42 while the justices consider a request by a group of Republican-led states that want to continue the expulsions, which were declared unlawful by a lower court.
While the legal wranglings continue, we pray for the people seeking refuge and the people receiving them:
Jesus, we sing happily at Christmas that you had no place to lay your head and yet can easily forget that is the reality for so many. The causes for these immigration issues are long and tangled but you have asked us to be faithful to the ones right in front of us. Keep the vulnerable safe as they travel. Provide through your people, safe places. And may your spirit inspire real solutions in our policy makers imaginations. We hold all those seeking refuge and all those receiving them up to your care and love.
Haiti has had ongoing political, economic and social turmoil for years but in this past year a health crisis has been revealed. Violent traumas, cholera and severe infection are swamping health care providers. We continue to pray for Haiti and its people:
God throughout your word, you are about healing. Of bodies, communities, societies, relationships and of the land itself. We join in with our Haitian neighbors and pray for healing in Haiti. Protect the vulnerable from violence and disease. May Haiti heal by your spirit.
As we approach the end of 2022, we’re grateful for the many ways people like you have helped churches pursue justice and shalom. Take a look at some of the ways you’ve been at work this year!
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