Peace Intern Training Week began with the Peace Interns joining the folks at Allisonville Christian Church for worship.
At the 9:30AM Traditional Service and the 11AM Contemporary Service our friends at Allisonville not only welcomed the Peace Interns but also offered a Commissioning Prayer and Blessing upon them.
Here is the full text of the Commissioning Prayer:
A Commissioning Prayer for the 2022 DPF Peace Interns
The Disciples of Christ Peace Fellowship is a ministry of our denomination whose mission is to “live out the Gospel imperative for peace and justice.” The Peace Interns are young adults who provide educational and program support at church camps and other church-related assemblies and events about peace and justice issues. They will serve as counselors, teachers, and resource-people- modeling the life of peace-makers for youth and adults alike wherever they go. This year, there are three of them, Sophia Barnett, Isaac Ackerman, and Erin Gresham.
This week and next week, the Peace Interns will be staying at the Retreat House here at Allisonville Christian Church while they undergo their training for the summer and have time to develop the resources that they need to complete their ministries around the country.
As they go forth on their journeys in peace and justice this summer, may we offer this prayer of blessing over these three young people as they carry out their mission and ministry.
Let us pray…
Holy One,
you are the source of all blessings,
the center of justice,
the wellspring of hope.
We give you thanks for the 2022 DPF Peace Interns:
Sophia Barnett, Isaac Ackerman, and Erin Gresham.
We ask that your guiding hand might be upon them this summer as they go forth as Ambassadors for Peace and Justice.
Open their hearts.
Inspire their witness.
Safely guide their journeys.
Give them courage, strength, and resilience.
Bless them with compassion and grace, insight and understanding.
We are grateful for the unique paths that each one of them has followed to this moment. We are thankful...
for their passion,
for their enthusiasm,
for their prophetic voices,
for their hope,
for their dedication,
for their faith,
for their willingness to serve.
In a life-changing summer filled with any number of unknown twists and turns we know that you will be with them every step of the way. May they be surrounded by the love and support of their siblings in the faith who care for them and want only the best for them.
When they feel alone,
may they know the power of your presence, and the grace of extravagant welcome and unexpected kindness.
When they feel exhausted,
may they find times of rest and renewal, knowing that in order to nurture the souls of others we must feed our own spirits.
When they feel discouraged,
grant them glimpses of the fullness of your Kin-dom where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
We humbly ask that their example might inspire others, that their work might bring about a deepening of faith, that their workshops and projects might ignite passions for social change, and that they might embody the Gospel imperative for Peace and Justice in everything they say and do.
We pray these things in the most holy name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ who is the Pioneer and Perfecter of our Faith, and the one we declare the Prince of Peace.
In Christ's name, Amen.