"Honoring the Richness of Diversity" an Interfaith Service and Flower Communion

Opening Prayer

By Vicki Wlaker

I am a member of the United Methodist Church, whose national motto is "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors". It is in that spirit of openness that we gather today. We want to create a safe space for healing as a community.

This interfaith worship service welcomes a marvelous variety of expressions of faith and I would like to open our service with a prayer in the Christian tradition by Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Let us pray,

Thank you, O God, that you have chosen your church to be your servant of reconciliation where all of us, gay and straight together, will count, not because of irrelevancies such as sexual orientation, race, gender, or status but because of our intrinsic worth as those created in your image, as redeemed by Jesus, as being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Bless this beautiful place with its wonderful people and their differences so that it will be a place of laughter and joy, of justice and reconciliation, of peace and unity, of compassion, caring, and sharing.

Amen.