World Council of Churches Prayer Cycle (Week 16)

In God's Hands: The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle

At the very heart of the ecumenical movement is the reality of prayer. Jesus prayed that we may all be one, united in God in the mystery of the Trinity. That is the basis and the goal of our search for unity.

The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle enables us to journey in prayer through every region of the world and through every week of the year affirming our solidarity with Christians all over the world, brothers and sisters living in diverse situations, experiencing diverse problems and sharing diverse gifts. Lord, hear our prayer ...

This week we pray for:

Week 16 - Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan

Intercessions

Give thanks for:

• The flourishing Christian churches in South Korea.
• Those who witness to the self-giving love of Christ in the midst of cultures that value individual prosperity.
• Those engaged in bringing together North and South Korea.
• Christians who serve Christ even when they are small minorities.
• Kimchi, sushi, tea and all the wonders from the sea.
• Enormous drums which beat the rhythms of life.

Pray for:

• Those who continue to be affected by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
• An end to nuclear weapons.
• Greater protection of human rights and a decrease in political corruption.
• Those families torn apart by the separation of North and South Korea.
• Peace in this region of frequent tension and misunderstanding.
• Those in North Korea who suffer from malnutrition and face starvation.
• Hope for people in North Korea who have seen only despair, deprivation and violence.
• A just and peaceful resolution to the conflict between China and Taiwan, and an end to the ambiguous understanding of Taiwan’s identity in the world.
• Those who seek power, prestige and wealth at the expense of spiritual wholeness, that they may be filled and renewed.
• Aboriginal peoples in Taiwan.
• Those still rebuilding their lives after powerful earthquakes.
• Children forced into prostitution.

Prayer

Who do I say that you are? I don’t know.
But what I know,
You – Good News to the captives and the poor.
Liberator of the oppressed, friend of Minjung,
     suffering people, under repression,
attentive ear to the silenced,
healer of the tortured, advocate of the lowest,
hope of the desperate, homeland of the exiled.
Who do I say that you are? I don’t know.
But what I know,
You – Flower of freedom in the valley of repression.
Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.