Some Prayers for Sunday

The Unitarian Universalist club that I run at our school led the church service at our local congregation today, so maybe I'm just in a religious mood, but I saw this prayer on a blog (followed by a sermon on Occupy Wall Street, which you might find interesting if you're into religious perspectives on capitalism) and I wanted to share it. As you may know, this weekend was Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. I'm even going to have a guest post about it for you soon! But in the meantime, I have this prayer...

The Al Cheit Prayer at Occupy Wall Street on October 7th, 2011

By Stew Albert & Judy Gumbo Albert

We have sinned
By yielding to confusion and falling into passivity
By indulging in fear
By giving in to anger
By not standing up for ourselves
By thinking about (sacred) values only on holy days
By tolerating global warming, global disease and global poverty
By being cynical about repairing the world
By not defending Israel
By not defending Palestine

For all our sins, may the force that makes forgiveness possible, forgive us, pardon us and grant us atonement

And I wanted to respond with this prayer, from my own personal stack of favorite prayers...

Prayer of Affirmation

I would be true for there are those who trust me.
I would be pure for there are those who care.
I would be strong for there is much to suffer.
I would be brave for their is much to dare.
I would be friend to all, the foe, the friendless.
I would be forgiving and then forget the gift.
I would be humble for I know my weakness.
I would look up, and laugh, and love, and live.