God of mercy and love, who came at Christmas to dwell among us, as we reflect on days past, as we ponder days to come, in this new year, we thank you for your blessings.

We thank you for the beauty of nature, for your love for us, for our relationships with others, and with ourselves. We thank you for all that you have done to create and sustain this world, our home. We bring our thoughts and prayers to you as we enter this new year.
God of mercy and love, have mercy upon us.

God of justice and peace,
we pray for refugees from the war-torn country of Syria, for Iraq and for the Middle East, for Ukraine and Russia. We pray that you would help world leaders to bring conflicts to a peaceful end.
God of justice and peace, have mercy upon us.

God of truth and light, we pray for our own country of Canada:
give to Stephen Harper and his cabinet a hunger and thirst for your righteousness.
Help us to deal justly with the needs of our First Nations neighbours.
God of truth and light, have mercy upon us.

God of creation and protection, give us the courage to face climate change
and, in response, to create sustainable lifestyles. For those creatures that are near
extinction, by your hand of mercy, protect them.
God of creation and protection, have mercy on us.

God of love and hope, we pray for those who are lonely, sick, depressed, in prison, bankrupt, or who are suffering from anxiety or discomfort of any kind. Be their strength and hope.
God of love and hope, have mercy on us.

God of forgiveness and redemption, for those who want change in their lives, who have started on a new path, given them discipline to keep their resolutions, so that they can both be and see the change that they are looking for.
God of forgiveness and redemption, have mercy on us.

God who is and who is coming,
we lift to you our dreams and our longings, grant us grace to accept the things that we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, the wisdom to know the difference and the trust to depend on your Holy Spirit acting in our lives.
God who is and who is coming, have mercy upon us.

We thank you for hearing our prayers, Three-in-One God, for we pray In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer. Amen.