Autumn Prayer

O bounteous God, we note the changing of the seasons. We look forward to celebrating the bounties of this earth. We remember with thanksgiving the Great Banquet, you, Most Holy, have invited us to. We praise your name for those among us who heed your call to invite the blind, the lame, and the poor. We praise you for those who embrace the stranger among us.

We acknowledge that this journey is difficult yet is necessary for the wholeness of the body of Christ. We lift up to you those among us who still have no voice in the difficult issues that confront our society. We especially reflect this autumn on the issues of our brothers and sisters who are labeled disabled, persons created in the image of God, gifted by God. The needs are many: access to worship, affordable and accessible housing, access to education, access to employment, access to public accommodations, the right for self-determination, access to health care, and access to voting. Forgive us, gracious God, for those things we have not done and for those things we have done that have hurt others.

Let us celebrate all the diversity of your creation. We humbly ask your blessings as we practice our faith and our life together in the body of Christ that it be made whole by including all who enter our places of worship. Amen.