"A modern Lord's Prayer" -- by the Micah Challenge

Today's post is from the Micah Challenge, a global Christian campaign to achieve the MDGs. Part of their mission is a weekly prayer emailing like the one you see below. You can receive it in your email box every week send a blank email to regine.nagel@micahchallenge.org with the words 'subscribe prayer' in the subject line.

The reflection this week is a 24/7 style prayer for the world by Pete Greig, one of the founding members of the 24/7 Prayer movement. It is based on the Lord’s Prayer. Please reflect on a modern version of the Lord’s Prayer below:

‘The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.’

Matthew 6: 7-13 (The Message)

Prayer
Let us pray:

* From the words of the prayer: ‘We volunteer. Motivate us to become the answer to the prayers on our lips.’

* Please pray for Micah Challenge Germany as they mobilize Christians to engage their local Members of Parliament. The aim is to inform politicians about the Millennium Development Goals and engage them in further action.

*Please pray for enthusiasm and wisdom for MC Germany coordinator Daniel Rempe as he promotes these actions to German evangelicals.

* Reflecting on the statistic below: Lord, we thank you for the 40 000 000 more boys and girls in school. We pray for improved education systems which provide funding to increase free access to schooling and employ more teachers to improve the quality of education.

Meditate on the Statistics

As you spend time in prayer and reflection, you may like to take a moment to silently understand with your heart the focus statistic we include each week (see below). Our hope is that you will find this series of statistics a useful resource in preparing presentations.

Goal 2: Ensure access to primary schooling for all children

Target 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

‘Forty million more children are in school and gender disparity in primary and secondary schools has declined by 60 percent, but 75 million children remain out of school.’

Source: Global Monitoring Report 2008, World Bank and IMF, April 08

"Fulfilling their dreams" -- by Elaine Thomas

My son, Seth, is graduating from New York University this week. Never mind that he was on the five-year plan at one of the most expensive universities in the country or that he decided early on in his college career that he just wasn’t a good student (never mind that he was in the top 10 of his high school class) - hence the five years. He’s graduating, and the long trail of tears is about to end. As a high school senior, he did not apply to any other college. He has dreams of being on Broadway, and where better for him to study than in the Big Apple at one of the finest acting schools in the country?

My daughter also went to a college with Ivy League tuition, even though it wasn’t an Ivy League university. She received a well-rounded liberal arts education, which is exactly what she wanted. I decided early on that my job as a parent is to give my children every opportunity to pursue their highest dreams and aspirations, at least until they reached adulthood and launched on their own. Sending them to a school that would give them the best training and opportunity to pursue those dreams is part of that parental responsibility. So we’ve made the sacrifices we needed to make, and now both children will put to best use what they’ve learned.

On the other side of the globe, an earthquake buried a high school in the Sichuan province of China. Hundreds of young people are dead or injured and thousands more in the region are dead. In Myanmar, thousands more children have perished in the destructive force of Cyclone Nargis and many thousands more are homeless.

Who will provide for the dreams and aspirations of these children? What future does life hold for them? In both regions, it could well be years before a daily meal is assured or a roof over the head is routine. The countries in which these areas are located are not entirely welcoming of outside assistance, but there are organizations that are helping. Episcopal Relief and Development does marvelous work by developing partnerships with those on the ground to get help to those in need in some cases more quickly and effectively than government organizations. Through the efforts of all of us, relief will ultimately help with the worst of the devastation and we will eventually begin to see rebuilding efforts come to fruition.

But there will be no university for most if not all of these kids. There may not even be a full course of primary education, Goal #2 of the Millennium Development Goals. And without that, they will be left vulnerable to the worst effects of future natural and man-made disasters. As we bear witness to the devastation in those far flung places on earth, let us dedicate ourselves to pursue with renewed vigor the work of fulfilling the MDGs. It is the best hope for the young people of the world.

As for Seth, maybe someday you’ll see him on stage. Or maybe he’ll end up teaching high school English and doing community theater. Either way, he has been given the best opportunity for success that we can give. The children of Rangoon and Chengdu are equally worthy of our best efforts to fulfill their dreams. “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs (Mark 10:14).”

Elaine Thomas is a member of St. James in Lancaster, PA where she is a member of the Peace and Justice and Stewardship Committees. She is also the EGR and ERD Coordinator for the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Elaine works for Episcopal Community Services in Philadelphia, a social service agency whose mission is to help individuals and families with multiple needs overcome the impact of poverty.