By Reverend Linda Morgan Clark

God of all, we believe that your sufficiency is for everyone. We know also that you require that we feed the hungry and clothe the naked from the bounty you have provided to us all.

But we also acknowledge that there are so many -- especially women --who, in these times of an overabundance of low wage jobs, struggle to keep food on their tables and roofs over their heads. And we especially remember women caught in the tattered and torn remnants of the social safety nets that have aided them in the past to feed and house themselves and their families.

We lift up for your special care those women and their children who wander among us hungry and homeless. May their sojourn lead them to caring people who will nurture them into dignity and link them with others who will share their resources with them.

Gracious God, keep nudging us toward these, the least among us. Open our hearts to hear their cries for relief and grant that we may be more faithful members of your household.

Amen.