This morning the good folks at Allisonville Christian Church welcomed the 2023 Peace Intern to Sunday morning worship where they were blessed with a Commissioning Prayer.
DPF is so thankful for our partnership with Allisonville Christian Church. Once again this year the Peace Interns are staying at the Retreat House at Allisonville (right on the church’s grounds!) for their Training Week. Thank you, thank you, thank you Allisonville!
For folks who are curious about the Commissioning Prayer, here are the words that were offered for Marci, Grace, and Kaylie:
A Commissioning Prayer
for the 2023 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, Kaylie Allen, Grace Dearhamer, and Marci Mazza-Fredley.
This week is Training Week for the Peace Interns – an intentional time of preparation, relationship building, and resource development so that they will be ready for their Peace Intern summer experience.
An important part of that preparation is a prayerful commissioning! 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 2023 DPF Peace Interns:
Kaylie Allen, Grace Dearhamer, and Marci Mazza-Fredley.
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.