Communities
O God,
Thank you for those communities to which
we belong and in which we find our identity.
Thank you for the community of family.
Thank you for those to whom we are related
by blood, by adoption, or by marriage.
Thank you for the community of neighborhood.
Thank you for those who are our closest neighbors and
with whom we share the blessings and struggles of life.
Thank you for the community of nation.
Thank you for those who are our fellow citizens and
with whom we share history, hopes, and ideals.
Thank you for the community of the world.
Thank you for those to whom we are bound by
our common humanity and by our common habitation.
Thank you for the community of church.
Thank you for those with whom we share
one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
Sometimes our belonging to several communities
at once creates conflicting loyalties in us.
When that happens, help us to be guided by the
privilege and responsibility we have to love you with
all we are and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Because we belong to many communities, we have an
allegiance to many laws, rules, traditions, and customs.
But when we have to make choices,
let the law of love be our one law.
Help us to love both the person right in front
of us and the people we will never meet.
Help us to love those we know best
and those we will never understand.
Help us to remember that, when we get
right down to it, we’re all in this together.
Amen.
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