we thank you for the cloud of witnesses
who make the mysterious heaven
a home for our hearts.
Before you,
we remember those faces we love
and those spirits we treasure.
At radiant dawn and in the quiet of dusk,
we remember them.
Under summer skies with shimmering fields,
we remember them.
At the falling of autumn
with trees clad in gold,
we remember them.
Through winter’s storms
’mid frost and snow,
we remember them.
At birthdays and family celebrations,
and in the festivals of the church,
we remember them.
When Christmas comes
with its carols and candles,
we remember them.
In the trumpets of dawn on Easter morning,
we remember them.
In the bread we break and the cup we take,
we remember them.
So send now your Spirit to settle on these gifts
that, through them,
we may also remember the body and blood of Christ.
Unite us, that in our remembering,
we will feel the presence
of those who share our lives now,
and those who have gone before.
Then, strengthened by you,
send us out to minister to the world in your Name;
through Jesus Christ,
who with you and the Holy Spirit,
lives and reigns as one God,
in glory everlasting. Amen.
—adapted from Bruce Prewer, Australlian Prayers
