Labor Day Litany Letania del Día del Trabajo Friends, let us offer our prayers to God, who pronounced all creation good, who sent his Son to live and work as one like us, and who calls us to serve the poor and those oppressed. Lord, give success to the work of our hands, Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For all those who work, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For those who are unemployed or underemployed, or have lost their jobs because of changing economic conditions, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For those who work in hazardous conditions without sufficient protection, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For local condominium and other service workers whose labor provides us with comfort and convenience they often lack themselves, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For migrant workers and all who work the land, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For all employers, that they may seek to provide a just work environment, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For those who face discrimination, harassment, or abuse in the work place, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For workers who have experienced job loss and other forms of retribution for their efforts to organize, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. For those who must balance job commitments with the needs of their family, let us pray: Lord, give success to the work of our hands. Loving God, through your Son you gave us an example to love one another as he loved us. Give us the strength to continue working to bring forth your kingdom here on earth - a kingdom of justice and peace, kindness and compassion, grace and mercy. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. Jewish Tradition -Read Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 "Do not shut your Herat against your needy kinsman," we read in Parshat Re'eh. "Rather you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs…. Give to him readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return the Lord your god will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsmen in your land." Elsewhere, we are told to provide not only for our kinsmen, but for the stranger and others left vulnerable in our society. And how must we provide? According to Maimonedes, the highest from of tzedakah is to offer someone a job, or to train someone in a livelihood, so that person can then support himself or herself. Maimonedes' position, of course, is based on a presumption that having a job or trade enables one to support oneself. But can one really support oneself on minimum wage, for instance? How, in our society, can we make sure that there are decent paying jobs for all - or that the most needy, both kinsmen and stranger, are adequately trained for jobs that exist? Additional worship resources for Labor Day are available on the Interfaith Worker Justice website at www.iwj.org.