Prayer for Unity

A month ago I was helping register voters at a registration drive at my church. Everything is so contentious, you know, and I was thinking, what is the prayer for this time? Then, someone handed my a prayer card and I had my answer. (related: if you haven’t yet, read my article at Medium called, “What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020.”)

On one side, there is an image of a heart and a dove surrounded by flames. It reads: “God’s Love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Romans 5:5

On the back, it says: “Prayer for Unity.”

Prayer for Unity

One only Holy Spirit of Father and Son

in whom all are baptized,

one Giver of many gifts,

one Tree of many fruits,

one Speaker of every tongue,

renew in our day the wonders of Pentecost.

Grant that people of every race and nation

may understand one another,

and as one, proclaim

the praises of God.

Grant that all may be one

as you, Spirit, with the Father and the Son

are one God, one Lord.

Grant unity to the Body of Christ;

grant unity to the human family.

Sole breath of every living thing,

may all be one who, in you,

live and move and have their being.

So that is the prayer for unity. Pray it please, would you?

A Follow Up from "My Teacher Flunked the Planet" author Bruce Coville

I had a real thrill this morning: in addition to lovely messages from readers, I received an email from the author of My Teacher Flunked the Planet himself, Bruce Coville.

As I shared in my previous post, I came across My Teacher Flunked the Planet by chance this summer and wrote an essay about it on Medium, called What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020 (please read, and give it a clap!).

I found Bruce’s contact and sent him an email last night. Just a simple message to let him know his book moved me. And lo and behold, this morning I had a note back. Not only that, but he had tweeted my article to his over 4,000 followers.

1/2

This essay about MY TEACHER FLUNKED THE PLANET, written by someone who really understood the book, filled me with joy.https://t.co/mIg7fzijlh

— Boo Coville (@brucecoville) November 2, 2020

In his follow up tweet, he writes, “Truth is, I got away with a lot in this book because no one was paying much attention to the fourth book in a paperback original SF series. The politics and philosophy of the book are an open secret between me and about two million kids.”

Via email, Bruce shared his gratitude for my having written about his book and said that it is arguably the most important one he ever wrote. Wow.

So anyway, that was super cool. Super cool, indeed.

If you haven’t yet, read the article, What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020.

What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020

The legendary, My Teacher Flunked the Planet!!!

Friends, I have just published my first story at Medium: What Early 90s Teen Lit Taught Me about Unity in 2020.

This was inspired by reading, for the first time, Bruce Coville’s 1992 work of young adult fiction, My Teacher Flunked the Planet. Check out the article to get the story behind this intriguing title and what it made me think about mankind, and world peace in 2020. Yes, you read that right!

Another thing I love about this is that only in a year like 2020 would I even have come across this book, in one of my many neighborhood walks and visits to neighborhood little libraries. Someone got rid of that book, and I picked it up. I love writing for children and young adults, and I certainly love sci-fi. On that hot July day, I came across My Teacher Flunked the Planet and knew it had to be mine!

Please give it a “clap” and otherwise share, as that helps with distribution. Here’s the link again. Enjoy!