A Prayer for the Caribbean

An invitation from Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and José Manuel Capella-Pratts, regional liaisons in the Caribbean

Summer 2024

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Dear friends,

As we head towards the summer months, with the 226^th General Assembly around the corner, and as we plan for the months ahead, we offer these words of prayer for our common ministry in the Caribbean region. Will you pray with us?  

God of hope, 
We come to you with open hearts,  
grateful for your love and mercies that are new each day.  
We thank you for our siblings in the Caribbean region,  
partners in your mission, who bear witness to your love and grace every day, 
responding to the call to serve you and neighbor.  
We thank you for the blessing of siblinghood, for being in relationship, and for the opportunities to share in ministry experiencing the koinonia that comes from being familia de la fe. 

Divine Parent,  
As we serve together,  
We see the suffering of your people, in the Caribbean, in our land and beyond:  
The effects of poverty, food insecurity, and discrimination. 
Violence and forced migration.  
Economic injustice and instability. 
Gender-based violence, and many other sufferings that cause you pain as well.  
We see how those with political power and economic influence prey on the vulnerable, 
And how we become complicit in these injustices.  

We ask for your forgiveness and divine guidance, so we may see the way forward. 
We ask for wisdom and courage to press on, continuing the mutual work towards a more just, equitable, and peaceful world.  

Grant us openness to listen and learn from one another. 
That we may, in your name, continue our joint efforts to help alleviate, and ultimately eradicate, the injustices these harmful systems cause your beloved, cause us all.  

Merciful God,  
We pray for the people, churches, and partners in this region.
For the people in…  
the Republic of Cuba,  
the Republic of Haiti,  
the Dominican Republic,  
Jamaica & Cayman Islands 
The Republic of Suriname,  
The Cooperative Republic of Guyana,  
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,  
Grenada, and other island nations in the Caribbean. 
And we lift the ministry of the Caribbean and North American Council on Mission (CANACOM) as they aggregate and seek to empower member churches. 

Sustainer and Redeemer,  
We are mindful that the one table at which we gather is yours.  
You bring us together, and, by your grace and grace alone,
We respond to your call to service in collaboration and mutuality.  
Illumine us.  
Guide us.  
Help us.  
That we may live in hope discerning the path ahead together, cultivating relationships, learning from each other, nurturing faith, empowering the vulnerable, speaking truth to power, and welcoming one another as siblings, as members of your divine family.  

Yours is the kin-dom we seek to build,  
Where hope abounds,  
Where love reigns,  
And where justice flows like an everlasting stream.  

In Jesus we pray,  
Amen. 

Join us in the journey: Save this graphic to share this prayer with others. May God, in God’s mercy, hear our prayers.