Pray for equality

The Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement have issued the following call to action in support of Equal Marriage:
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1)  Join the Rally for Marriage Equality on Monday 3rd June from 5.30pm  at the statue of George V in Old Palace Yard, London SW1, diagonally opposite the main entrance to the House of Commons.
2)  Pray. The Evangelical Alliance along with other Christian groups that oppose marriage equality have published a call to prayer. Here is our response using the same format that is being printed in GayStar News:
Please pray:

• That the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill will become law and that it will be promoted in society for the good of all.
• That on Monday 3 June a majority of Peers will vote in favour of the bill.
• For the Equal Love Campaign and all the other LGBT Christian organisations as they campaign to remove the exclusion of same sex couples to marriage.
• For parliamentarians and others in public life to have the courage to stand up for their convictions for equality.
• For the news media, that they would report the issue widely, fairly, and accurately.
• That the real benefits of opening up marriage to same sex couples would be publicly known and properly discussed.
• That people would not face discrimination or be perpetrators of discrimination, in the workplace or elsewhere, because of their sincere beliefs about marriage.

Open prayer is encouraged, but this written prayer may also be of help:

Loving God,

We thank you for the gift of marriage which you established at the dawn of time, to be a blessing for all generations throughout the earth, down through the ages.

We pray that you would fill each and every marriage with your love and grace, and that every couple would know the joy that comes from sharing and giving.

We thank you for establishing marriage to be a secure and stable environment for raising children and becoming all you have called us to be.

We pray, as you have commanded us, for those in positions of civil authority.

We ask that you would bless our nation as the Government seeks to open up marriage to make it available to all your children.

We pray that our government will act with wisdom and righteousness, promoting marriage for all couples to whom you have given the gift of love for each other so that marriage will truly become what you want it to be - for the good of all people.

We pray for our nation, as our government seeks to open up marriage, that they will embrace this change. And we pray for ourselves, that we would speak out in support of equal marriage with gentleness and kindness, but also with courage and confidence.

In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord we pray.

Amen.

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I won't be able to make the vigil, but I will be praying.  I'll be praying for equality, inclusivity and victory of good over evil.  Our faith is a faith based on the person of Jesus, the great practitioner of social inclusion.  Following his example, ours is a faith that includes the tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, lame, the children, the guilty, the social outcasts, the political outcasts and those on the religious fringes.

To be closing ranks and excluding others based on their identity is not a Christian principle. It may be one that can be Biblically backed up by a select extraction of verses, but that is an incorrect use of Scripture to enforce views that are not in keeping with our radical, inclusive faith.

Praying for equality for all!