O God of our Every Step,

We thank you for leading us into this holy space. For life in a city that shimmers with possibility and excitement. For all of the random and ordinary parts of this city, O Lord, we give you thanks. For the dog-walkers, for interns, Central Park runners, for bodega owners, for grumpy commuters, for those who make their beds on our sidewalks. The Kingdom of God belongs to them.

Holy One, your heart is for this city, for the miraculous and diverse set of people who inhabit it. Maybe we again commit ourselves to your people – to being those who cherish this place.

Yet, there are people that we love who today feel fragile. Those who have been laid off, those who have lost a spouse or beloved parent, those who are feeling the restlessness of retirement, for our faithful neighbors who have entered hospice after a life well lived. O God, in the moments when we feel life’s deep fragility, may it also be an opportunity for gratitude.

Today, we pray for a world that we sometimes fear to look at. A world that, in our modern moment, is instantly accessible, yet can feel so foreign and far away. May we risk playing our part in your plan of reconciliation. Build your Kingdom through me. Build your Kingdom through us.

We pray for those places that desperately need that reconciliation. The places that feel like they will always be caught up in the violence of conflict, and for the innocent bystanders caught up in someone else’s war. Deliver us from warring ideologies, we pray. Today we pray for families in Gaza. We pray for the hungry. For Israeli hostages held so long away from their families. We pray for peace in Ukraine – delayed and still pursued.

You are the One who raises and topples Kingdoms. Today we pray for the leaders whose decisions impact the lives of so many. God, have mercy on us. Have mercy on them. For Eric, our Mayor; Kathy, our Governor; and Donald, our President. May their leadership be lived in obedience to the most vulnerable.

Tethering these words to you, in the assurance of your presence alongside us, we pray how your Son taught, saying…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.