Remembering all on Labor Day!

 God of the rough-worn hands, as we honor workers this day,
 let us not forget those whose work is without honor:
 those homemakers who watch over children and homes
 but are not recognized as workers because they are not paid;
 those who are forced out of jobs by corporate changes,
 those forced into early retirement,
 those who are denied employment because of their age;
 those who live far from home,
 struggling to save a bit of money to sent to their loved ones;
 those who must work illegally in order to survive;
 those who lose jobs because employers use undocumented labor.

 Christ of the aching back, you worked the rough wood,
 you walked the long and dusty roads,
 you know the bitter thirst of the poor.
 Let our thirst become a passion for justice.
 Help us to work toward transformation of economic policies
 that allow only a few nations to hoard the world's wealth,
 policies that pay women as only half a person or less,
 policies that do not recognize the worth of labor exactly without pay.

 Spirit of creative power, move among us this day.
 Heal the wounds we carry because of jobs we hate but must do,
 jobs we want but cannot have.
 Heal all those who labor to survive.
 Renew in us our sense of vocation.
 Help us discern your Presence in even the lowliest tasks we face. Amen 

(Chalice Worship, Colbert Cartwright & O.I. Harrison)

 

Litany of Labor:

Leader: Let us pray to the God of all creation, from whom comes life, work and purpose. Almighty God, when you lovingly formed us out of the dust of the earth, you breathed into us the breath of life and gave us work and purpose for living. We give you thanks, O God.

• For those who plow the field; for farmers and farm workers, for those who work with their hands and those who move the earth, for all who provide food for others.

• For those who tend the sick and those who seek new cures; for doctors and nurses, for scientists and technicians; for all who work to care for the sick.

• For those who design and create; for inventors and explorers, for artists and musicians; for those who write books and those who entertain; for all who open windows on their world through art and music.

• For those who work in offices and those who work in warehouses; for secretaries and receptionists, for stockers and bookkeepers; for those who market products and for those who move them; for all who serve others through administration.

• For those who inspire our minds and those who motivate us; for teachers and preachers, for public servants and religious servants; those who help the poor and those who work with our children; for all who encourage us to learn.

• For those whose labor is tidiness and cleanliness; for janitors and sanitary workers, for drycleaners and maids; for those who produce cleaning products and those who use them; for all those who add beauty and cleanliness to your world.

• For those who sail the waves and those who fly the skies; for captains and attendants, for astronauts and deep sea divers; for those who chart and those who navigate.

• For those who serve in the armed forces; for soldiers and airmen; sailors and marines; for all those who put themselves in harms way to protect others.

• You bless us all with skills and gifts for labor. You provide us opportunities to use them, for the benefit of others as well as ourselves and the growth of your Kingdom on earth. Guard and protect those who labor in the world.

• Send your special favor on the unemployed, the under-employed and the disabled, that they may find work that enriches their lives and provides for their families.

• Give health to the sick, hope to the bereaved.
• Keep us from laboring for ourselves alone.
• Make us loving and responsible in all that we do.

 (Adapted from: Author: Carolyn Moomaw Chilton)