On this day we remember women,

women created by you Creator God.

We give thanks for women who have loved and nurtured us.

Nurture comes from you, nurturing God.

We give thanks for powerful women who have used their power for good:

to strike down slavery; to end the exploitation of children; to promote peace; to encourage the

powerless; to bring justice for their sisters and brothers.

You have promised the power of you Holy Spirit to those who love you, powerful God.

We remember with grief women who are suffering today:

women who are hungry and cannot afford food;

women who are poor and cannot support their children.

We remember with grief women with AIDS, women with cancer and

other devastating

illnesses.

We lay our grief at your feet, grieving God.

And now we remember women living and dead, who have been important in our

personal

lives.

We name them in our hearts.

May this great cloud of witnesses strengthen us on our way.

Written by Pat Hoffman for a March 1992 service at Church of the Foothills, Ventura, CA