Daily Prayers for September 13

In 1971, inmates at Attica Prison in New York revolted and took control of their facility, presenting a list of demands to the governor of New York that included removal of the warden, better living conditions, and amnesty for those who had participated in the uprising. On September 13, a combined military and police force stormed the prison. By the end of the day, thirty-one prisoners and nine prison guards were dead. As we remember the prisoners and guards who died at Attica, we are also mindful of the fact that more than 1 percent of the US population is incarcerated today. Also noteworthy are the Oslo Accords signed on September 13, 1993, a milestone in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. They were the first direct, face-to-face agreements between the government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and were intended to be a framework for ongoing relations and negotiations in this troubled area of the Holy Land.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Song “Steal Away to -Jesus”

You who died a criminal’s death : raise us with you to freedom.

Psalm 69:16 17, 21 23

Save me from the mire; do not let me sink : let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.

Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up : do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.

“You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor : my adversaries are all in your sight.”

Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed : I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I could find no one.

They gave me gall to eat : and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

You who died a criminal’s death : raise us with you to freedom.

Hosea 4:1 – 10 Matthew 7:13 – 21

You who died a criminal’s death : raise us with you to freedom.

Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm, wrote, “The Good News of the resurrection is not that we shall die and go home with him, but that he is risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner brothers with him.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Lord, help us see that prison takes many forms in all nations, from the steel bars of injustice and unforgiveness to the open fields of consumerism and spirit-killing entertainment. Equip us by your Spirit’s power to free one another from the various prisons in which we find ourselves. Amen.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

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