Daily Reading for July 18 • The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Lord, for the blessing of sisters
For friendship and laughter and tears
For the road walked together and adventures shared
For the breaking of bread and mugs of coffee
For sisters whose lives are hard and oppressed
For sisters who toil and have no time for rest
Lord, we pray

Lord, for the blessing of grandmothers
For gentle and wise counsel
For the gift of time when all else seems hurried
For memories passed on to be kept and treasured
For being a stead presence when life is tough
For being there when the going gets rough
Lord, we pray

Lord, for the blessing of women
For women who energize and inspire
For women who blaze new trails
For women who march for justice
For women who question and stir
For saintly women who have gone before
Lord, we pray.

From “For the Blessing of Women” by Jan Brind and Tessa Wilkinson (Woking, Surrey, England), quoted in Lifting Women’s Voices: Prayers to Change the World edited by Margaret Rose, Jenny Te Paa, Jeanne Person, and Abagail Nelson. Copyright © 2009. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com