I recently had the opportunity to attend the 12th Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner sponsored by the Dialogue Institute of the Southwest. Diverse people, cultures, and faiths gathered around a meal and conversation to create new friendships and deepen mutual understanding. I was privileged to offer a prayer at the beginning of the evening. Other prayers were offered by a Catholic priest, an imam, a rabbi, and a leader of the Sikh community.
Holy and gracious God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and we offer you thanks and praise for bringing us together this evening.
We thank you for the many and diverse peoples and traditions you have gathered here. Open our eyes to see, our hearts to know, and our mouths to proclaim that our common humanity precedes our religious differences, and that our religious differences are the many and particular expressions of your universality.
Look with compassion, O Lord, on the whole human family, whom you have made in your image and according to your likeness. Take away the arrogance, fear, and hatred which infect our hearts. Break down the walls that separate us, and unite us in bonds of love.
Open the borders of our hearts and minds, and guide us in the way of holy friendships, that we may learn to better love you, one another, and ourselves.
Give wisdom, creativity, and perseverance to all who work for unity, peace, concord, and the freedom of all people. Guide the leaders of our religious traditions and the nations of the world, especially the President and Congress of the United States, in the ways of your peace and justice.
Grant us inquiring minds, searching hearts, and curious spirits that we might deepen our own faith by learning of your ways from those who differ from us.
We thank you for the gift of hospitality, for the food and drink of this evening and for those who prepared it. Bless this food and our time together that we might be nourished and strengthened in body and soul to do the work you give us to do; to love and serve all your people.
All these many things we pray with thanksgiving in your holy name. Amen.
Interrupting the Silence 
A beautiful prayer Mike. Thank you.
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Oh dear. Great blog text. Poor blog picture. I have been much involved in a number of interfaith organisations in the State of Victoria in Australia. Your words are always carefully and beautifully chosen. Not so with the picture which is highly gender biassed. Were there no women at this event? On one hand, I can understand that perhaps you were trying to demonstrate the clerical side of things. But are there no female clerics in your neighbourhood? If it was a matter of submitting to some clerical protocol, could there not have been a second photograph to even up the gender situation. However, if this picture is an accurate representation of the demographic of those in attendance, I would say that there are a few other matters which require attention apart from interfaith relationships.
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Misseagle, thank you for your observations. Given the text of the post I thought that was the best picture to use. The picture does not, however, represent the demographics of the evening. There were a lot of women in attendance including the mistress of ceremonies. Neither is it an attempt to show the clerical side of things or a submission to clerical protocol. It’s just a picture of the individuals asked to pray that evening. I do not know how or why we were chosen or asked to pray. There were female clerics in attendance. I agree, it would have been most appropriate to have invited one of them to pray.
God’s peace be with you,
Mike+
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Thank you for your beautiful prayer please may I share it tonight for our interfaith praying together in Jerusalem.
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Angleena, yes please use the prayer in whatever way might be helpful. Blessings and peace upon you and your interfaith gathering. Mike+
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Beautiful prayer. May I use it (with appropriate credit attributed) for opening worship in my seminary class “Patterns of Worship”?
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David, thank you. I am more than happy for you to use that prayer in your opening worship at seminary. Thank you for asking. I hope it is meaningful.
Blessings upon you and your study and formation. God‘s peace be with you.
Mike+
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May I use your prayers in the context of prayer for at Evensong in my Cambridge College Chapel?
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Anne, yes, you are welcome to use those prayers.
Peace be with you,
Mike
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