Worship Resources: General/Interfaith
A PRAYER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
God of justice and mercy,
God of hope and new beginnings,
we come to you in the midst of a broken world.
As we navigate our days, help us remember that you have created each and every person with dignity and worth.
We remember the courage of previous generations who sought ways to better live together regardless of any and all differences.
On this anniversary of its adoption, we remember those who in the wake of World War II joined together in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Help us, O God, to honor the legacy of this declaration of basic shared human rights.
Turn our fear into determination.
Turn our apathy into motivation.
Turn our inaction into service.
Embolden us as individuals,
as communities, as nations
to live as your people seeking wholeness and reconciliation.
Amen.
Worship Resources: Jewish
- A variety of resources from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights - Includes Human Rights Shabbat materials, Divrei Torah, liturgies, and background information
- A Prayer for International Human Rights Day by Rabbi Brant Rosen
- A Human Rights Shabbat focusing on ending the torture of solitary confinement
Worship Resources: Christian
- Resources from Pax Christi USA
- Prayer from the Carmelite Community at Aylesford Priory
- United Church of Christ, An Intercessory Prayer for Human Rights Day
- Presbyterian Church (USA), Human Rights Day
- Baptist World Alliance, Human Rights Day
- Also, you might incorporate Human Rights Day into your candle lighting service – for example, see a liturgy from the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. Or you could include a petition in the prayers of the people. For prayers you can use or adapt for your church, go to our Christian prayers for Human Rights Day page.
Muslim Resources
- "Islam Condemns Torture" a Khutba (sermon) by Sheikh Abdool Rahman Khan, Religious Scholar at the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park, Illinois.
- A press release from the ICNA Council for Social Justice.
