Unity in Female Friendship: A Liturgy
February 27th, 2023 • by Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore
Oh Lord,
You have made us female on purpose,
delighting in our womanhood,
bestowing upon us traits that are
reflective of You.
You have made us mothers and daughters,
sisters and friends,
makers and caretakers,
innovators and educators.
You have made us women—
embodying Your femininity,
experiencing You in ways only women can.
Together, we are a radiant force for good.
Together, we are powerful pillars of beauty.
Together, we are the tender torchbearers of Your light.
We know You as women.
We enjoy You as women.
Together, we lift You high.
We need only look to Ruth and Naomi,
Mary and Elizabeth,
and the women who were the first to visit Your tomb
to know that there is something uniquely powerful
about friendship among us.
But how easy it is to lose sight of this,
to be distracted by comparison,
to weigh our individual gifts against each other,
as though one woman’s gift means another woman’s lack.
Oh God, we undermine unity
when we compete and condemn.
We know that rivalry rots our hearts,
so help us to consider our sisters better than ourselves.
We know You as women.
We enjoy You as women.
Together, we lift You high.
When we feel as though our portion is not enough,
and the Deceiver sings jealousy loud in our ears,
may we drown it out with worship,
with a song of Your infinite goodness.
May we pool our gifts together,
celebrating every success,
cherishing every victory,
mourning every loss.
May we be full of hope for each other,
believing the best about one another,
rejoicing with pure hearts at our sister's success
and carrying her burden when the weight is too heavy.
May we lay our lives down,
as our first Friend taught,
filled with honor and binding ourselves in love,
trusting that Your generosity extends to us all.
For we know You as women.
We enjoy You as women.
Together, we lift You high.
“Together, we are the tender torchbearers of Your light.”
You can find more liturgies from Audrey and Elizabeth in their co-authored book Liturgies for Hope: Sixty Prayers for the Highs, the Lows, and Everything in Between.
Audrey Elledge lives in New York, where she works at SparkNotes and serves at Church of the City New York. Elledge is the co-author of Liturgies for Hope: Sixty Prayers for the Highs, the Lows, and Everything in Between and the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and the Virginia Beall Ball Prize.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Elizabeth Moore now lives in New York, where she works at Penguin Random House and serves with the Church of the City New York creative team. She is the co-author of Liturgies for Hope: Sixty Prayers for the Highs, the Lows, and Everything in Between.
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