On Inaguration Day we were at a loss. So we turned to old patterns and wiser heads. We said the Prayers of the People from the Book of Common Prayer.

Of course, we’ve made a pet of the anticonformity bunny, so we couldn’t just say the Prayers of the People. Instead we cut it up into little slices and posted them on our bulletin board. Then folks went up and picked one that rang with them. We rewrote them in our own words. Here they are, followed by the orginal.

Monkfish Modified: Prayers of the People

For our president, for the appointed leaders and for the citizens who direct our country, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.

For safe travel and that there will be snow at Grandma’s, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.

For Seattle and Vashon, for Costa Mesa and every community, for those who live in them and around them, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the lonely–alone and among the crowds — for the depressed, amid joy and sorrow, that they may find companionship and grace, healing and hope, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the earth that exsists around us. For the natural that flows within us. For the ability to be humbled and dependent, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayers.

_________________________________________________________

Prayers of the People

I ask your prayers for God’s people throughout the world;
With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the
Lord, saying “Lord, have mercy.”
____________

For the peace from above, for the loving-kindness of God,
and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the world, for the welfare of the Holy Church
of God, and for the unity of all peoples, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For our President, for the leaders of the nations, and for all in
authority, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For this city, for every city and
community, and for those who live in them, let us pray to
the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the good earth which God has given us, and for the
wisdom and will to conserve it, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For those who travel on land, on water, or in the air [or
through outer space], let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and
for the sick and the suffering, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the poor and the oppressed, for the unemployed and the
destitute, for prisoners and captives, and for all who
remember and care for them, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

Defend us, deliver us, and in thy compassion protect us, O
Lord, by thy grace.
Lord, have mercy.