Prayers for Ed Hillary

Yesterday we said farewell to someone who showed us what it means to be an ordianry New Zealander. Our church ran a memorial service last night. Here are the prayers I wrote for this service as a tribute to the man and his legacy.

Creator of life and light,
We praise you this day for the beauty of your world,
for mountains stretching ever towards the sky,
the vast reaches of ice and snow in Antarctica,
rivers such as the Ganges with thread on into the hills,
for the radiance of dawn and the last smouldering calm of the sunset.

We thank you for the life of Sir Edmund Hillary
a life well lived
We thank you for his many achievements
for his great love of adventure,
for his passion for the Sherpa people
for his humility
A man who showed us what it means to be “an ordinary New Zealander”

God, Creator of mountain and ice
Creator of all
Hear our prayer

Gracious God,
surround us and all who mourn this day
with your continuing compassion.
We especially pray for the family and friends of Sir Ed.
Do not let grief overwhelm them.
May they be surrounded by those who can support them and take them one step at a time
along your road from death to resurrection

God, Creator of mountain and ice
Creator of all
Hear our prayer

We pray for the ongoing work of Himalayan Trust in providing schools, clinics and hospitals for the Sherpa people.
We pray that the work of Sir Ed in establishing this trust so that facilities that we take for granted her in New Zealand will continue to be supported by New Zealanders, and the Sherpa people can continue to benefit.

God, Creator of mountain and ice
Creator of all
Hear our prayer

We pray for all those who follow Sir Ed’s footsteps, in the Himalayas and in Antarctica. We pray for their safety in these treacherous places. And we pray that they may be as inspired as Sir Ed was to live for other people, and for the benefit of this planet.

God, Creator of mountain and ice
Creator of all
Hear our prayer

We pray for ourselves. May the life of this amazing man inspire us to live with the same humility, passion and selflessness. May we keep his memory alive not just in telling stories about him, but living lives inspired by him.

God, Creator of mountain and ice
Creator of all
Hear our prayer


In silence we pray our own prayers for Sir Ed.

Comments

A. J. Chesswas said…
great stuff
1:04 am
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