The sun rises and people head out from the shelter
to spend the day on the streets.
We pray for kindness in an unfair world,
safety from harm and aid for those who are sick.
Every person has their story.
Jesus, you too were a wanderer,
travelling far from family:
be with those who feel lonely today.
We ask for basic things:
food to sustain,
comfortable dry places to rest,
and for the compassion of strangers.
It can be a long day till the shelter opens again.
We pray for politicians
who make choices in high office towers.
Life is made possible or impossible,
affordable housing is built or not built,
jobs are created or not created,
the vulnerable are supported or not supported,
all with signatures of the well-to-do.
Let there be humanity in their choices:
protect politicians from greed
and from the influence of those
who only want to get richer.
We need your Spirit trickling up,
taking us by surprise,
showing us a better path,
moving us to be people who see people
and who respond in human ways
even to those who live in inhuman conditions.
There are better ways to help each other,
help us find them.
This we pray to you, Creator of us all. Amen
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I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.