Truth and Reconciliation Congregational Prayer

Thank you, God, for everything that is true and good:
for true love, and good friendships,
for true stories, and all who tell them,
for the good earth, which is truly a home for all your creatures. 
Thank you for all who seek the truth;
journalists who try to reveal injustice,
scientists who figure out how things work,
judges who listen to every side.
Thank you for the desire for truth
that you put inside each one of us,
and for the gift of Jesus Christ,
who came to show us the way, the truth and the life.
And yet for all the truth there is in the world,
there is so much brokenness.
Telling the truth means speaking about wrongs done
and all the evil under the sun, fruit of our own hands.
This week in Canada, there is a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
As communities of faith, we join in the lament of our nation
that has sought for centuries to obliterate Indigenous Peoples.
You know about the stolen land,
the residential schools with their unmarked graves,
the languages stamped out, the history erased,
the murdered and missing indigenous women,
the institutional and casual racism that warps our society.
We look to you, Creator of us all,
for a path to a future different from the past.
Give us eyes to see reconciliation,
not just as a distant point on the horizon,
but as the work we do every day.
You anchor our commitment to reconciliation
and will help us act when we see injustice. 
We pray specifically for Mennonite Central Committee
in their work with Indigenous-Settler relations.
Thank you for the enduring beauty and strength
of the many indigenous cultures around us. 
Thank you that truth and reconciliation are possible,
although the timelines for that may be longer than we think.
We pray for the needs of our community,
for all whose lives are filled with grief…
for all with health challenges…
Finally we pray for all here
who have seemingly irreconcilable differences
with people in their own families.
Walk with us in the hard work of living out your gospel
in our homes and in our country.
We do all this, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.