We continue to pray today, Lord, for our sisters and brothers in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. We pray that they will soon come to know peace in their lives, that their lives will no longer be defined by death and destruction.

We also pray that the disease of war will not infect the Korean Peninsula, that today’s tensions will not become tomorrow’s tragedies through the use of violence to settle political disputes. May the leaders of the North and the South as well as other world leaders not be tempted to unleash a war to divert people’s attention from their own failures and the domestic problems of their countries. May your love and wisdom, Lord, guide the deliberations to maintain and uphold peace.

In our broken world, Lord, we remember the African-American families in the United States who have lost a spouse, a child, a friend, a neighbor, who has been fatally shot by a police officer because of the color of their skin. We pray for justice for the victims and their families. We pray too for dialogue between racial minorities and law enforcement agencies to build bridges instead of walls between them so that future incidents will not occur and more families will not suffer.

With the upcoming International Day against Homophobia, or IDAHO, this month, we pray that all sexual minorities in Hong Kong and around the world will be treated with respect as people created in your image. We pray that discussions between heterosexuals and homosexuals will create understanding and that stereotypes will be discarded and abandoned through this process. May everyone embrace one identity that binds us together, that is, we are all human beings, and we are all children of God.

In our community of Hong Kong, we ask that an exchange of ideas on political reform be initiated that includes everyone involved—the people of the city and the Hong Kong and Chinese governments—in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust so that a more democratic political system is established and social harmony in the city is restored.

In Hong Kong, we also pray for the villagers of Wang Chau in the New Territories. May their pleas for their homes to be saved be heard by the leaders of the Hong Kong government. May justice prevail for the villagers. May the government value the interests of the villagers and other ordinary people in Hong Kong as much as they do the interests of property developers and rural leaders. May people’s lives take precedence over profits.

In our congregation, we continue to lift up to you our prayers for renewed health for our church members who are ill. May they each overcome the health issues they are facing. Bless them with your peace, with your love, with your healing presence, to make them whole and healthy again.

In today’s ecumenical prayer cycle, we pray for the people and churches of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We pray for an end to poverty, to human rights violations, to corruption, to divisions and hatred based on caste, religion and ethnicity. May the political leaders of these South Asian nations serve their people and not their own interests. May love for their people replace their love for power.

Lord of Life, we lift these prayers up to you. Hear our prayers. Amen.

With Peace,