God,

Fill us with your Spirit
that we might have courage—
Courage to be vulnerable,
To risk being wrong;
Courage to speak hard truths,
And to accept them;
Courage to lead through uncertainty,
And to ask for help when we need it;
Courage to try something new,
And to try something again;
Courage to take up our cross,
And to follow you, regardless.
It is a frightening world, God,
And we are anxious people—
More inclined to comfort than courage.
So we need you
To empower us,
To lead us,
To assure us
Again
That neither death, nor life,
Nor angels, nor rulers, nor powers;
Neither things present, nor thing to come,
Nor height, nor depth,
Nor anything else in all creation
Can separate us from your love.

Amen.