Prayer for Kwanzaa

A Prayer for Kwanzaa
Gracious God,
Giver of life,
Thanks be to you for your many blessings,
And for the beauty of the bountiful Earth.

Kwanzaa!

Forgive us for taking our many blessings for granted.
Pardon us for abusing and exploiting your creation.
We are not responsible stewards; our consumerism & materialism hinder us
Merciful God, your creation groans for liberation.
Let us be "the first fruits" of your Spirit for a hurting world.
Help us to transform our bombs into bread, our bullets into books.
And count our blessings and name them one by one.

Kwanzaa!

The Quest for Unity
(NOTES: The letters separated by hyphens are to be spoken individually, may be a choral reading or litany with the "many" reading the bold)
Queen Latifah put a beat to it: U-N-I-T-Y.
Our leaders have called us into it: U-N-I-T-Y.
Our community is need of it: U-N-I-T-Y.
We are still bamboozled: by "divide and conquer"

We are the Body of Christ — many parts, one spirit
We are hooked-up for the current of love to flow through
We are knit together in a single garment of destiny
"Can't we all just get along?"

Ubuntu is in our bones — I am because you are!
Umoja is in our blood — One Love!
Amandla is our reach — Power to the people!
Can't you see it begins with "U-N-I?"

Lament for UJAMAA
Where is UJAMAA?
Our past cries out for us to change our thinking
Our present speaks through a bullhorn for us to change our habits
Our future is under arrested development
Our dollar has become as powerless as the dead presidents on them
"In God we Trust," but can God trust us
To build our own businesses and control the economics of our community?

We have more millionaires and fewer resources
We have more access and less achievement
When are we going to pool our economics together?
Jubilee has come and gone, and we're still in debt
From the rising of the sun, until the going down of the same
We strive for more celebrity and less integrity Where is UJAMAA?

Nkhosi Sikeleli I-Africana
(A Prayer for People of African Descent)
God of all generations, past, present, and future
God in all places: Villages, the city, the country, the jail, the hospital
You have called us into community — a global community

Nkosi Sikeleli I'Africana

You have called us into community — a global community.
A scattered community, a fractured community
A unique community, a hybrid community
A rainbow-hued community — rich in culture and creativity
A diverse and dynamic community endowed with agapé

Koinonia!

Teach us our common roots, different gifts and characteristics.
Though we have a variety of colors, creeds and customs,
Though we reside in the north, south, east or west
Though we came off the boat, out the bush, on the train, through the refugee camp
We are made in your image. We are called into your purpose
Teach us your common vision for us!

Viva Ubuntu, Viva!!

Help us commune rightly and respectfully with one another —
to speak loving words of hope, healing and wholeness —
Help us to know and speak your truth —
the truth of liberation, not exploitation.
Cultivate within us a new appreciation for difference.

Shalom!!

Lead us to establish a new commune,
Your commune of peace through justice.
Lead us to welcome strangers in our midst,
And to understand the true meaning of neighbor.

Viva Umoja, Viva!

God, you have called us to unity.
A call not so much to be like-minded,
But to unite for your purpose.
Equality! Justice! Peace! Community!
Let it start with us. Nkosi Sikeleli I'Africana.