Family, fracture, healing, home

Mark 10:2–16 

Holy One, we pray for families,

for children, siblings, offspring,

growing and learning who they 

will be and with whom they belong;

for parents – mums and dads,

step parents, adoptive, fostering, in-laws,

balancing nurture of self and spouse,

balancing freedom and boundaries,

balancing their roles as children

themselves, and siblings, aunts

and uncles, cousins and friends.

We pray for grandparents,

godparents, grandchildren,

nephews and nieces and family friends. 

Holy One, we pray with thanks

for families, for love, for nurture, for home! 

Holy One, we pray for fractures

in family relationships: 

for separations caused by wars

and battles, rejections 

and misunderstandings;

for departures and divorces,

re-marriages and single-parenting,

grandparents parenting

the children of their children;

for fostered children, adopted

children, orphaned, abandoned, 

neglected children, and those

adults who harm and who heal. 

Holy One, we pray with hope 

for healing of fractures for love

to be known in every family. 

Holy One, we pray for families 

unconventional, bonded by choice 

breaking the rules society imposes; 

for rainbow families, blended

families, childless couples, singles,

religious, platonic partners

and feathered, finned, and furry friends. 

Holy One, we pray with joy

for the diverse ways we find

ourselves home, part of a family

and we pray that all

may somehow find their way home.

Amen.