Good and gracious God,

We come before you today
lifting up those who,
because they are far too frequently
seen as different,
are far too frequently
treated differently.

We pray for immigrants in any nation.

We pray for those living on the streets.

We pray for the socially awkward
and for the terminally shy.

We pray for those who struggle
with weight issues
and those who can’t put the bottle down.

We pray for those who have physical challenges,
for those whose mental processes
work differently than most,
for those who have speech impediments,
for those who have twitches and ticks,
who have thick accents,
strong ethnic features,
and those who don’t realize
how difficult their directness
can be for others.

We pray for those
who think “normal”
means
“just like me.”

We pray for the child who doesn’t
“fit in”
and for the adult who’s lived a lifetime
of being constantly bullied
because they were brave enough
to be who they were created to be
even when they didn’t
“fit in”
as a child.

Remind us
that even the simplest forms
of bullying, marginalizing,
and setting people apart
simply because we see them
as “different”
places us further away from your love.

Create in us a more willing spirit,
ready to embrace all people
particularly those shunned by others.

And through each of us
help us created a more loving world
where diversity thrives and is celebrated.

Amen.