God, Thank You for my grandparents. I love spending time them. They always make me feel special and are excited to see me. Please bless them to be healthy and strong. Protect them from harm and keep them happy and safe until I see them again. When I miss them, help me to remember all of the fun times we have when we are together. Thank You, God, for my grandparents. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
O God, who is parent to us all.
We welcome you into this space
where you can see the majestic work of your creation.
Through our worship today,
see that we are heeding Christ's call
to let the children come to us …
to invite all into the priesthood of all believers …
and to be the Body of Christ.
As we celebrate the children and the youth of our church,
we know that we are truly celebrating our whole church family
our commitment to one another
our love for one another
and our compassion for the world outside of our walls.
Be with us as we acknowledge our covenant together.
and recommit our lives and our ministries to you.
Give us strength, O God.
With your creating, redeeming and sustaining grace,
Fill our whole lives with your presence.
Amen.
Heavenly Father, today is November 20, 1968, (10.1 by the lunar calendar), the day on which Children's Day was newly proclaimed on this earth nine years ago. During that time, we have lived through many days and years. As we walked the course following the Will, we have yearned to become the true children You would desire to have, and whenever we are in attendance on an occasion such as today, we, knowing the standard you desire of us and seeing ourselves falling so short of it, cannot help but feel ashamed of our present selves before You. Heavenly Father, please look upon us with compassion.
Father, we are aware of the fact that to celebrate this joyous occasion on this day, all of your children spread out across the land of Korea, are offering our bows before You, in the direction of the headquarters, with sincere hearts full of devotion. Not only those in Korea, but also the many of Your children scattered around overseas and weary in their lonely courses of pioneering, are thinking deep in their hearts about the value of being in attendance of this day, and are waiting keenly with earnest hearts for the day when they can receive this day in the land of Korea, and praying with tears for that day.
We know all this, and, though their situations and circumstances are different from one another, please be with them all and sympathize with their hearts and thoughts, and liberate them from their anguish. We beseech you from the bottom of our hearts to do so. There are so many religious believers on this earth walking the path of righteousness and offering devotions, so please let them find their desired places and attain the glory of children, and since their desire to find the day of liberation should achieve success on this earth at any cost, please bring under Your control their hearts harboring admiration and anticipation for it, so that they may actually meet with Father on this earth and take part in celebrating this day together with us.
We know that not only those on earth, but also the many martyrs of the past and our ancestors in the spirit world have walked the course of indemnity for restoration of earth until now. We are also aware that when an individual failed to fulfill his responsibility, You established the next descendant to pioneer the course of restoration through indemnity. Though the great number of our ancestors who have passed on into the spirit world had endeavored in accordance with the Will, and established the foundation for the public good, the day of liberation from anguish could not be instituted on earth. And yet, when we consider the fact that we of this day and age can be liberated through the establishment of Children's Day, we should realize fully that our receiving this Children's Day is of great significance in cosmic history, so please help us comprehend this amazing truth.
Whenever we are in attendance in one of such occasions, please permit us not to think of them as just perfunctory and customary gatherings and ceremonies of the world. We are truly grateful, and we truly commemorate the fact that such holidays as today have come to be for the first time since the onset of history. Please allow us and help us to become Your sons and daughters who can remember Your loving heart and show gratitude for the fact that You have labored hard and incessantly to pioneer the path of the providence of restoration.
Please remember Your sons and daughters present here today, and though it is disappointing that not all the members of the nation could be gathered at the same place to hold this ceremony, since You know that it was not possible to do so on account of environmental conditions and everything else not under our control, please comfort and solace the hearts of the sons and daughters who could not be here with us. We should bring about the day whereon we can serve You, offer obeisance before You, and celebrate all we want to our hearts' content in a free environment as quickly as possible. Realizing that the disappointment we feel in such situations as these are all due to our failure to fulfill our responsibility, let us feel even deeper in our hearts our given mission as pioneers of tomorrow, and help us make resolutions anew to prepare the foundation for the restoration of our people and the world.
Please allow us to clearly comprehend that the position we occupy as the members of the Unification Church is a very important position of the great mission of cosmic magnitude. Permit us to know the truth that You have established each and every one of us to do away with the historically embedded grief and sorrow, and that by establishing our families You have created the framework for the cosmic liberation from anguish. Help us to know all this and become Your children who can be grateful of this amazing mission and responsibility given us.
We hope and pray that You will bestow more blessings on all Your blessed children celebrating this day. Grant them grace thousands of times and tens of thousands of times more, so that it will overflow in their hearts and bodies.
We ask You from deep within our hearts to let the remainder of this day be a day of joy before Your Will and a day to be commemorated in all solemnity. Please let the many peoples living around the world feel Your loving touch so that they too may be restored as new peoples who can prepare for the coming Kingdom of Heaven, and since the forces of evil are still mighty, dampen their spirits and establish the standard of goodness that can serve as the beginning of the new promise to work directly through Your children gathered here today to push forward and accomplish Your work.
We pledge to dedicate to You our remaining days, and to do our utmost best even on this one day to bring about results of loyalty and filial piety in front of Your Will. We hope and pray for the glorious victory of Your sacred Will, and that every day will be a source of joy to You.
Heavenly Father, we implore you to grant the victorious foundation to the many spirits in the spirit world that they may work on this earth in a free environment. By so doing, such a day as today can also be a blessing to them as well as to the people on this earth and the entire cosmic world. We ask you to allow all this.
We request you earnestly to preside directly over all that we do from this time onwards, and I offer this prayer in the holy name of True Parents. Amen
God, Thank You for my brother. The people in our lives are placed there by You. You love all of us like sons and daughters, more than we can understand! Thank You for my brother. He is a very special person in my life. Someone who is fun to be around, but also understands me. Our friendship is very special, and I look up to him very much. Please bless him, Lord. Bless my brother, and keep him safe, today and always. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
God, thank You for this day! Thank You for the birds and the animals, the flowers and the trees, the lakes and the streams, and the sun that rises and sets over them each day. Thank You for creating everything we see! Thank You for the life we live, and for making each person different. Thank You for Jesus, who died for us so that we can go to heaven one day just for believing in Him. What an amazing God You are! In Jesus' Name, Amen.
God, I am sad. But You are good, and You are there. You listen to me when I cry. I can cry to You and tell You what is wrong. Even when I don't know what to say, I can just pray, “Help me, God, I'm so sad.” You promise that whatever I am going through, You will be there. Thank You for always loving me, even when I am really sad. Thank You for this day, even though it's not been the best day. Show me how to cheer up. Help me to be happy. Help me to see and remember all of the good things You have blessed my life with, and dry my tears. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
God, Sometimes I don't feel like talking about what's wrong. I just want to be mad or sad or frustrated. I would rather sit by myself. Sometimes, things feel too big for me to figure out. Sometimes, life seems really unfair. I need Your help, God. You are the only One who sees everything and knows everything. You are the only One who knows everything about me. Can You help me to trust You, today? Please teach me how to take what I feel and give it to You to sort out. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
God, thank You for this day! Thank You for the birds and the animals, the flowers and the trees, the lakes and the streams, and the sun that rises and sets over them each day. Thank You for creating everything we see! Thank You for the life we live, and for making each person different. Thank You for Jesus, who died for us so that we can go to heaven one day just for believing in Him. What an amazing God You are! In Jesus' Name, Amen.