A prayer for women

By Rosalie Sugrue in Prayers

For womankind and sisterhood we pray

Earth Mother, Sky Father, Creator and Sustainer of us all,
We know you as the one God who provides, protects and prompts us to reflect.
We acknowledge all good comes from you.
We are grateful for good thoughts, good ideas, and good actions.

We reflect now on womankind - womankind and sisterhood.
We remember women who inspire, create, encourage and nurture.
For such women we say Thank You and God Bless.

We recall the glistening web of women that hangs in our own family tree -
whether these women live in this world or the next, they are known to you.
We silently name them before you -
mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, and others we claim as family.
God Bless our kinswomen.

We recall a tapestry of significant women in our own lives
teachers, leaders mentors, friends.
We bring names from the past into conscious memory;
we recall women unknown to us,
whose achievements have notched names in our memory.
We name some and remember their work.
God Bless these special women.

We give thanks for the vast network of women:
presbyters, receptionists, cleaners and carers,
who hold society together.
God Bless working women.

We give thanks for the visible fabric woven by poets, authors, dancers, musicians,
and all who influence through creativity.
God Bless inspired women.

We give thanks for the hidden skeleton of women who work
to change laws and attitudes for the cause of justice;
invest time and talents in working at the raw edge of human need;
give their skill and patience to the nurturing of families.
God Bless caring women.

For unremarkable women, struggling women,
and for ourselves we pray:
Strengthen our sisterhood as we support each other
and work for a better world;

Show us how to become more like the women we admire;

Grant us understanding to claim the best feminine values and feminine wisdom;

Use us to infuse the Material with the Spiritual, and the Secular with the Sacred;

With strong threads from the past and bright hope for the future,
help us weave a faith suitable for today -
a mantle worthy of tomorrow's daughters.

God Bless us all.
Amen.