The United Nations has set September 21 as the International Day of Peace. This day provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. Here are two prayers for the International Day of Peace:
O God,
Guide the peoples and nations
to make today a day of peace,
a day when wars are suspended,
and weapons laid aside.
May the spirit of this day of peace
guide us to the time
when bows are broken,
spears are shattered,
weapons are dismantled,
war is no more
and peace prevails
throughout your world.
Bless afresh the peacemakers
who work for that time
Move us to join them.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
- The Rev. W. Mark Koenig
God of hope and peace, God of life and love,
you broke into the world
not with the clamor of battle
but with the cry of a tiny babe;
now break into the lives
of your children around the world
that this might be a day of peace.
May all your children be open
to the indwelling of your Holy Spirit
that we might be converted
from violence to your peace.
Thus transformed, may we convert
our weapons of destruction
into implements of healing and production
so that all your children
know justice, wholeness, and well-being.
We pray in the name of that tiny babe,
Jesus the Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.
- The Rev. W. Mark Koenig