weekend prayers

The people of the United States should take a moment this weekend to remember those suffering in the ongoing conflict in Darfur according to a declaration of the US Congress designating this weekend of July 15-17 a national weekend of prayer and reflection for the people of Darfur.

The resolution “encourages the people of the United States to observe this weekend by praying for an end to the genocide and crimes against humanity" which have claimed an estimated 400,000 lives and affected more than 2.5 million more in the past two years.

Join the nation in praying this weekend for lasting peace in Darfur

• Pray for the Sudan peace process and the repercussions that the installation of the new national unity government in Khartoum last week will have on the peace of Darfur.
• Pray for the Darfur peace negotiations that will resume in August and that the government's recent promises to end the conflict would become a reality.
• Pray for a return to the peace and unity which once exist between the coexisting African and Arab populations in Darfur.
• Pray for the elected officials for the United States and the leaders of the world to recognize the crisis and engage with wise responses.

Pray for the suffering people of Darfur

• Pray that the insecurity of the region will not prevent international and national aid efforts from reaching the needy people.
• Pray for the hundreds of thousands of displaced people who don't have adequate shelter to keep them dry during the rainy season which has now started. Pray that the rains would not prevent aid from being able to reach them.
• Pray that the rains of the season would be adequate to grow good crops and to replenish the water supply so that there will not be drought or continued famine in the seasons to come.

Pray for the continuing work of World Relief in Darfur

• Pray for wisdom for medical staff and hygiene promoters during the critical time of the rains when malaria and water borne illnesses are at their peak.
• Pray for increased strength and health for the 400 malnourished children under five years old and the 600 pregnant and nursing women being served in World Relief’s supplementary feeding program.
• Pray that the efforts to supply 35,000 people with access to water will ease the tension that lack of water causes in the dry and sun scorched land of Darfur.
• Pray that the staple food crops recently planted by more than 8,000 families through the food security program would grow to yield a plentiful harvest for the coming year. Pray for the security of the women and children as they travel distances their villages to tend their crops.

“Merciful and compassionate Spirit
Be present to the suffering people of Sudan
Shelter the widows and the children
Comfort all who are weary and afraid
Bring relief to those who hunger and thirst
Center our thoughts with those who suffer in silence
Move us to recall our shared humanity
Unite us in our determination to respond to injustice
May we never forget! May we never forget!
Hear our prayer. Make our action swift.”

-From the United Nations