The Iolaire Centenary Prayer

God of the years, our hope and refuge, we come to you with the memory of so grievous a loss weighing heavily on our hearts.

Gracious Lord, heal our wounds and grant us peace.

God of our hearts, we remember before you those who, having endured hardship and danger in war, had their lives taken within sight of their island home.

Gracious Lord, heal our wounds and grant us peace.

God of our minds, we think of those who lost husbands and lovers, fathers and sons, brothers and friends, and can scarcely imagine the emptiness of hearts and homes.

Gracious Lord, heal our wounds and grant us peace.

God of all comfort, in the midst of such pain and horror, we give thanks for acts of selless courage and kindness, by which others were saved or comforted.

Gracious Lord, heal our wounds and grant us peace.

God of all grace, we pray for these islands, their communities and families, over which the dark cloud of sorrow has lain for a century. Comfort, console and strengthen us in faith, so that in waiting on you we may mount up on wings as eagles. Gracious Lord, heal our wounds and grant us peace.

God of sea and land, whose ways are beyond our grasp and from whose love in Christ nothing in life or death can separate, we give thanks for your abiding presence in our time of need.

Gracious Lord, heal our wounds and grant us peace.

God of past, present and future, renew in all a vision and longing for reconciliation. By your Spirit, empower us to work for the day in which justice, harmony and love shall reign among all nations and in every heart.

We offer these prayers in the name of the cruciied and risen Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

The Very Rev Dr Angus Morrison

Photo: iStock

This article appears in the January 2019 Issue of Life and Work

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