Liturgy and Prayer Ideas

From Connie Knapp

“Here are a few more liturgy idea for All Soul’s Day and some that might work for Transgender Day of Remembrance” (TDOR) on Sunday,

November 20, 2022

From Enfleshed for All Saints Day:

God you have been with us throughout the ages.

You have bore witness to the ways in which the story of us – of all that has come into being – has been woven together piece by piece, life by life.

We recognize, today, that it is because of the saints who have gone before us, that we are. Those who have struggled for justice, who have given so that others may live more freely – we would not be, if not for them.

In remembrance and gratitude, we name the saints who hungered for righteousness and whose sacrifices have contributed to a more just society:

(community names individuals)

Because of those who have loved us – those who have nurtured us, embraced us, celebrated us, or supported us. We are because they were. In remembrance and gratitude, we name the saints who have shaped our lives and being.

(community names individuals)

We also hold in remembrance the ones whose lives were taken by injustice, the ones who never knew their own belovedness, the ones who passed on our faith, the ones who gave us art, gave us song, gave us poetry. We are because they were.

Like us, we know they were imperfect too. There is no life that is not messy and contradictory, often betraying the very justice and love we seek to embody. And yet, you, O God, promise that our labor to Love is never made in vain.

Help us to lean on the witness of those who have gone before us, drawing on the love, justice, community, and faith that weaves us together, generation after generation – past, present, and future.

With gratitude and in remembrance we pray, Amen.

Another possibility for All Souls/All Saints day (from Lynn):

Gracious God, on this All Souls day we remember…

We remember that we benefit from the lives of those who came before us

For the faith that they have taught us,

For the examples they set for us,

For the mistakes they made from which we learned

On this All Souls day we remember and lift them up

Gracious God on this day we remember those whose lives seemed to end too soon

For those lost to COVID and for all those who were their caretakers

For those who could not find their way from despair

For those who endured violence and were taken from us because of their color or nationality, their gender or sexual identity - because they sought to be seen and known by those who did not want to see

For those who died bringing peace and justice to the world

On this All Souls day we remember and lift them up

Gracious God, on this day we remember our church family and friends who have gone before us. We remember and are thankful for the life of (names)

On this All Souls day we remember and lift them up

A trans prayer of divine understanding (possibility for TDOR) from Enfleshed

Creative Spirit,

Holy Momentum,

Ever Transitioning One,

Do you hold the prayers of trans people close,

like the embrace of someone who understands –

a source of comfort or hope?

We share this joy – you and us:

Taking on new forms

that life might thrive.

Shedding what no longer fits;

or never did.

Struggles, we share, too:

Religious beliefs that confine being and becoming.

Enduring acts of violence

born from fear and fueled by power.

Though even we endure too much, too long,

how burdensome is your lot…

Centuries pass and still,

so few who claim to love you

believe you are who you say you are –

calling you an excuse for bigotry,

when you are a river of Love.

Do all the theologies of hate,

and songs of Sunday apathy,

land on your ears like a deadname –

something given to you

that you never asked for

and just won’t go away?

Do you wince

each time a prayer ascends to “Him” –

because more than anything,

you know what that means to do

is distance you from the likes of “Her” or “Them?”

When you stretch out your arms

as the embrace of a gentle man,

or kick out your feet

as the dance of a woman,

or run wild in open fields

through every gender-less,

or gender-abundant,

or nonbinary kiddo

loving their flesh,

do you take delight in every fit,

finding a spot of home

in every body?

The glory of your Multiplicity cannot be hidden away.

We may be a long way from safety yet,

but your mercies are new every morning

and with each day dawns new possibilities

of Sacred Transition

into a world more fitting for everyone.

May your blessing be upon all your trans beloveds.

Take pleasure in us, your stunning incarnations.

And as we care for our each other,

may the god we practice be a comfort and a strength.

Also from Enfleshed:

A Queer Call to Worship

God is calling us

Out of the places we hide

Out of insecurity

Out of shame

Out from under that which silences love and justice.

Come out, people of God!

Though we may be afraid

Though we will be at risk

Though the cross stands as a threat

God calls us to courage!

Our God is a god of resurrection. Of new life after devastation. Of hope in the grip of evil.

And so we dare to proclaim, with pride and faith, our truths:

We believe in the power of love.

We believe in solidarity with the suffering.

We believe we are each valuable.

We believe that our togetherness is transformative.

The world is longing for Holy truths that reveal, voices that speak real words of hope.

Come out, people of God!