Daily Prayer for Peace
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The Daily Prayer for Peace is a spiritual discipline unique to the Community of Christ and practiced at the Independence Temple in the church's headquarters campus in Independence, Missouri. It falls within the most common category of Christian prayer known as supplication.
Each day of the year at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time/Central Daylight Savings Time a Daily Prayer for Peace is held as part of a brief worship for that purpose held in the sanctuary of the Independence Temple. The sanctuary is open to the public as members lead a brief worship service that includes the Daily Prayer for Peace. The form of the prayer is a public spoken prayer, usually written by one of the members from somewhere in the world and read aloud either by that member or another person. Each day of the year, the Daily Prayer for Peace is focused on the needs of a different nation of the world. The supplicant prays aloud for peace under the 150-foot dome of the temple spire.
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[edit] Background
At the 1984 World Conference of the Community of Christ, its President, Wallace B. Smith, called for the construction of the Independence Temple and its dedication "to the pursuit of peace."
A committee formed to consider the worship ministires to be held in the new temple, devised the idea of a Daily Prayer for Peace to act as a witness of Christ's peace and a "symbol of the Church's unrelenting pursuit of peace."
The Daily Prayer for Peace has been held daily since the dedication of the Independence Temple on 17 April, 1994. It is one of many practices, including the Community of Christ International Peace Award that distinguish the denomination and its members.
[edit] Order of service
The committee developed a standard order of service which is normally followed: Gathering in Silence, Call to Prayer, Lighting of Candle, Invitation, Scripture Reading, Prayer for Peace, Prayers of the People, Hymn, Benediction and Postlude.
[edit] Prayer topics
In order to ensure a truly global reach for the prayers, a different country is named each day as a focus of prayer. The schedule can be seen on the Community of Christ website http://www.cofchrist.org/prayerpeace/.
[edit] References
- Laurie Smith Monsees, The Temple: Dedicated to Peace, Herald House: 1993.
