The following responsive reading may be used in a variety of worship settings.
A Litany of Hope For Mozambique
Leader:
Civil war, drought, famine, and floods have ravaged the people and lands of Mozambique. Thousands of people have died, and many more have become refugees in foreign lands.
People:
Where is their hope? How will the people of this poorest of countries find the means to go on living?
Leader:
The prophet Jeremiah said, “There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country” (Jeremiah 31: 18).
People:
How can there be hope for Mozambique? Countless land mines still prevent access to wells, roads, schools, and farmlands in this land of over 17 million people. Malnutrition and starvation are commonplace.
Leader:
There are also 121,000 United Methodists in 130 congregations across this African nation. And the church is growing by 20 percent every year. Virginia United Methodists are working to establish a vocational school in Cambine, Mozambique, to teach carpentry, sewing, and auto mechanics.
People:
Perhaps, then, we are the hope of which Jeremiah spoke. Perhaps God has chosen us to be vessels of hope for the people of Mozambique.
Leader:
“We do not boast beyond limit,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “our hope is that as your faith increases, our field among you may be greatly enlarged” (II Corinthians 10: 15). Perhaps God is enlarging our field among the people of Mozambique; perhaps God can use us to increase their faith and build their hope for the future.
All:
O God, you loved the world enough to give your life for us. Help us to follow your example. As we reach out to the people of Mozambique transform our Initiative of Hope into a life-changing avenue for the offering of your grace. In the name of Christ, the source of our hope, we pray. Amen.
