A Litany for the Millennium Development Goals

[Editors' note: This blog post is adapted from a litany on the Millennium Development Goals from the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations.]

People: Hear our prayer.

 Leader: Let us pray for schools and centers of learning throughout the world, for those who lack access to basic education, and for the light of knowledge to blossom and shine in the lives of all God’s people. Lord, in your mercy,

People: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for an end to the divisions and inequalities that scar God’s creation, particularly the barriers to freedom faced by God’s children throughout the world because of gender; that all who have been formed in God’s image might have equality in pursuit of the blessings of creation. Lord, in your mercy,

People: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for the health of women, children, and families around the world, especially for an end to maternal and child mortality, that in building healthy families, all God’s people may be empowered to strengthen their communities and repair the breaches which divide nations and peoples. Lord, in your mercy,

People: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for an end to pandemic disease throughout the world, particularly the scourges of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis; that plagues of death may no longer fuel poverty, destabilize nations, and inhibit reconciliation and restoration throughout the world. Lord, in your mercy,

People: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for an end to the waste and desecration of God’s creation, for access to the fruits of creation to be shared equally among all people, and for communities and nations to find sustenance in the fruits of the earth and the water God has given us. Lord, in your mercy,

People: Hear our prayer.

Leader: Let us pray for all nations and people who already enjoy the abundance of creation and the blessings of prosperity, that their hearts may be lifted up to the needs of the poor and afflicted, and partnerships between rich and poor for the reconciliation of the world may flourish and grow. Lord, in your mercy,

People: Hear our prayer.