Please join the Aboriginal Ministries Circle of The United Church of Canada in prayer for First Nations communities in northern Manitoba and elsewhere being evacuated due to forest fires.
O Great Spirit,
You reveal yourself to us
in all of creation.
You are known in still waters
and you are known in raging fire.
We pray now for those
who, on this day
are endangered by forest fires,
who are being evacuated—
shaken from their homes
and familiar lands, carried off
to strange places and temporary shelter.
May they know your constant
Presence in moments
of fear and uncertainty.
May they receive hospitality
from brothers, sisters, and cousins in faith.
May they be welcomed as strangers,
entertained as angels in disguise.
Awaken in our hearts
to respond to their suffering.
And when it is time for them to return
to their homes, we pray,
may those homes be spared
the destructive forces of fire.
We pray, too,
for those who work
to protect those homes.
Keep them safe.
O Holy Mystery,
You once guided your people
by a pillar of fire at night
to a new place and a new land.
Like the power of fire
to regenerate the forest,
may our compassion be stirred
from the hot ashes of anguish,
sprouting green redemptive love
by our prayers and actions.
Let us live in respect with creation.
Amen