Introduction
As flowers adorn a table, invocations grace Rotarian meetings by turning our minds to what is beautiful, noble and good.
Rotary Prayers is a selection of short invocations written for use within the Rotary Club Osijek, Croatia, Rotary District 1913 between 2007 and 2015.
All the invocations consist of thanks, basic thoughts and prayers for God’s guidance. Both the form and content are in line with Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other religious traditions and will be familiar to everyone looking for a positive outlook. The word God is used here as a convenient synonym for Supreme Being, allowing readers to substitute the appropriate term for their faith.
In some invocations quatations are used which add to and illustrate a basic idea. Most of the authors hardly need mentioning but are cited so that these invocations may serve as a small celebration of their wisdom.
I hope that Rotary members everywhere will find inspiration and something of value in these invocations. I welcome comments, suggestions, proposals for translations into other languages and anything else that will spread the message of service to others.
Finally, I offer my deep gratitude to Mate (Matt) Pralija, from Sydney, Australia, for translating these invocations into English.
Vladimir Šilović,
Osijek, Croatia
silovic@os.t-com.hr
Prayers for special occasions:
Beginning of the Rotary year: No. 72
The end of the Rotary year: No. 73; 74
Death of a friend: No. 76; 77
Literacy: No. 59
New generations: No.22; 54
The Rotary Foundation: No.9
New friends in the club: No. 27
Club projects: No.33; 56; 57; 60
Teamwork, committees: No. 24
Polio plus: No. 66
Rotary avenues of service: No. 80
3H project: No. 20
Assembly of the club: No. 64
Disasters: No. 50
Invocation 1
We begin by thanking Him, who is the source of life, for our good health and the company of friends here today.
If we look deep into our hearts and ask “How do I serve?” we will hear the voice of our conscience say that only sacrifice matters.
Words without actions are like whispers in a storm; words with actions are a beacon and an example followed by others.
Are we to be an unheard whisper or a resounding voice of that which is within us? Because, as Croatian composer Dora Pejačević wrote: “We can only express that which is already within us. “
In our hearts grow the desires that we have nurtured: they will shape our thoughts and actions.
If we have love in our hearts we will show goodness and kindness. If our hearts tend towards action we will show determination. If we have humanity in our hearts we will show brotherly love to all.
God, You who know every corner of our souls bless us with the spirit of humility, service, goodness and love, towards all. Let us always be prepared to make sacrifices and to recognize that in our passing through this earth only our deeds remain.
Amen
Invocation 2
We thank You God for our fellowship with an organization that promotes strong ethics and principles, and for the strength to serve and exercise those principles in the knowledge of our own transience.
At the Rotary convention in Seattle in 1954 the president of Rotary International Herbert J Taylor addressed the audience with these words:
"The fundamental principles contained in the Rotary four way test - truth, justice, friendship and usefulness to others - are the principles or articles of faith which all Rotarians practice.
These four simple tests apply to everything we think, say and do.
1. Is it true?
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build good will and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?"
As we dwell on the meaning of these tests we pray to God who is Wisdom that He bless us with:
· A yearning for truth
· Awareness of the needs of others
· Friendship so that we both have friends and are friends to others
· Respect for the interests of others
Amen
Invocation 3
God, we thank You for the power to make humanitarian works a part of our lives. We thank You for the happiness of those whom we have helped and for the knowledge that their life’s burden will be a little easier to bear as a result.
Working for the common good is a long road with no end in sight. As every task is completed a new stretch of road opens up. It is longer and more difficult than the one before but it leads us onward.
A Turkish proverb says: ‘No road is too long with good company’. So too does this unfamiliar road give us the opportunity for fellowship with friends and joy in their individuality. It is like a thread leading us towards a fulfilled life.
God, You who see both the beginning and the end, we pray that on this road, which is much longer than our short life, there will always be those who pass along it, even when we are no more.
Amen
Invocation 4
Let us thank God today for the opportunity that the Rotary organization extends to us to live a fulfilled life in community with all people.
Let us all give thanks individually for our health and our ability to actively contribute to everything that our club does.
Rotary’s activities are, and must be, more than managing activities such as collection and distribution of material and financial aid.
It has to be more than an intellectually self-satisfied group pontificating on rarefied issues about society and a better world.
We have decided on a path of service and it is expected of us that we will do something for this world. That is why we are called to grow spiritually but deal with everyday reality.
Where there is uncertainty between the spiritual and the material we pray that each of us, and the club as a whole, finds a way of serving that combines but does not diminish both of these dimensions in our work.
God, give us a path where the material is embroidered with the spiritual and the spiritual is strengthened by the material.
Amen
Invocation 5
Surrounded by the love of friends we thank God for the wonderful people who have filled and enriched our lives, for all that is good in our club and the opportunities provided by Rotary.
When in doubt whether ‘to have’ or ‘to be’ we would be wise to choose ‘to be’ because we will have chosen the spiritual and the eternal above the material and ephemeral.
Rainer Maria Rilke wrote of the ‘miracle that happens every time to those who really love: the more they give, the more they possess.’ So it is that when we invest in Rotarian friendship, when we sow the deserts of the world, we harvest the rich fruits of human love and gratitude.
In the end, as we approach the twilight of our lives, we will know that these were the shining moments, when we realized the best that was in us. It is the one treasure we take with us into eternity.
Almighty God we pray that You grant us a moment of peace and composure so that we can properly order the priorities in our lives, and that those priorities always allow room for those who are in need.
Amen
Invocation 6
At the very beginning let us express our thanks to God for our membership of this club and the benefits we receive through Rotarian friendship.
Reflecting on happiness, Dostoyevsky wrote that “Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it.”
If you want to taste happiness you must first bite into the grim reality of the lives of our brothers - those near us and those on the far side of the world - and do your best to help them.
If you want to see happiness, look in the face of the one whose dream you have helped make real.
If you want to be truly happy, let your hand that helped one person, touch many more.
If you stop to enjoy the taste of happiness you will find it quickly melts away because you are no longer immersed in the spirit of actively searching for ways to help your fellow man.
Happiness is in Rotary - for us within and for those outside whom we serve.
We pray to the Almighty to help us in our deliberations, to choose the path of personal engagement that will bring the greatest benefit to others and contentment to ourselves.
Amen
Invocation 7
God, today we want to thank You for the great ethical and humanitarian values of the Rotary movement, for the vision in the selection of our activities and for our persistence in their execution.
Words filled with nobility and encouragement have the power to make our souls tremble and respond with the best qualities that are in us.
Carried on the wings of idealism of our childhood we strive to change the world and help others. We’re ready to take on the burden of the weak.
But we must remind ourselves of the words of Carlos Castenda, “There is a flaw with words, they always force us to feel enlightened, but when we turn around to face the world they always fail us and we end up facing the world as we always have, without enlightenment "
We can allow great ideas to sink into our inertia or we can open our hearts to their growth. It is entirely up to us.
God, the source of love, solidarity and strength, let us look at the world with the heart and courage of Rotarians. May the great humanitarian ideas in us always overcome greyness and mediocrity as we face the real world.
Amen
Invocation 8
Let us begin this meeting in silence, thanking God, each in our own hearts, for our ability to serve others through our Rotary club and through Rotary International.
Counting down the miles on the road of life, immersed in our dull, everyday thoughts, we sometimes pass by magnificent works of men with little thought or feeling.
By contrast, the hearts of those who took part in their creation fill with satisfaction every time they look at their work. The difference is the labour, sweat and, at the end, the sigh of relief, that are all part of the work.
That is what the Dalai Lama meant when he said that, “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
Guided by the knowledge that true, complete and lasting Rotarian happiness lies only in the synergy of fellowship and teamwork in humanitarian projects, we pray to God, who straightens all our paths, to lead our steps on the path of selfless service to others, the road of giving not what we have too much of but that which we can do without, and which others desperately need.
Amen
Invocation 9
God, today we thank You especially for the existence of the Rotary Foundation and the opportunity to participate in its works.
Arch C. Klumph , the sixth president of Rotary International and the founder of the Rotary Foundation, said in 1929, “The Rotary Foundation is not to build monuments of brick and stone. If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work on brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, if we imbue them with the full meaning of the spirit of Rotary as expressed in our Objects and with the just fear of God and love of our fellowmen, we are engraving on those tablets something that will brighten all eternity.”
The years that have passed since 1929 have fully vindicated Arch Klumph’s vision. The Rotary Foundation has placed investment in people at the centre of its activities, writing glorious new chapters in humanitarian works.
Almighty God we pray that You bless the Rotary Foundation, those who carry out its works and those who benefit from them.
Amen
Invocation 10
God, today we want to thank You for our commitment to the goals of our Rotary club and the whole Rotary movement. We thank You for the perseverance and capacity to overcome hardships on the road of good works.
The difference between courage and giving up often comes down to just a look into the eyes of those who need us.
To look into the eyes of those who need our help and to endure their gaze means to be determined to take on a share of their life’s burden. To avert your eyes is to see a problem and give up.
As Henry Ford said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
A clearly defined objective and single minded determination allowed Rotary to grow from the group of four founding members to an organization with millions of members who carry out large and important humanitarian projects on a voluntary basis.
God, the source of all virtue, give us the strength to look into the heart and soul of our fellow man because it is only then that we will see in him the brother that we seek to help.
Amen
Invocation 11
God, we thank You for Rotary’s high ethical standards.
In the race to reach our everyday goals we often, and with little attention or care, take and receive things of value which are all around us and make our life better and richer.
Today we reflect on and give thanks for the faith that we have in our friends, for the consistency in their attitudes and dependability in their conduct.
Trust is the fertile ground on which Rotarian friendship grows. It is the precondition to the formation, development and survival of the club. But it doesn’t exist by itself: it is built, it changes and much depends on how much we put into it.
God, You who straightens our paths, we ask You to smooth out the rough patches on the road of Rotarian trust so that it grows stronger and binds us always.
May our priorities be high minded and may we be worthy of the trust of our friends, all those who are in need and of all those who need us.
Amen
Invocation 12
Today we thank God for making Rotary an integral part of our lives, for everything good that we have received through Rotary and for everything we have been able to repay by enriching others.
Rotary means a life in the present with a vision of a better world and a proactive attitude towards the future. Rotary embraces the uncertainty that is an inevitable part of every endeavour; it is the enduring companion on the road of change.
If you want to know your destiny leave it to time says a Chinese proverb.
After more than a hundred years since the founding of Rotary we can say that Rotary is the true path.
It has passed the test of time and all the turbulence of the twentieth century. The idea of friendship and giving of yourself to the public good is as alive today as then. May it always be so, because that idea is the foundation of the humanity which we carry in us.
In the sure knowledge that our direction is true, we pray to the Almighty that He straightens the path on which we travel, that our deviations be small and the number of those we reach great; and that the number of friends travelling the same path be equally great.
Amen
Invocation 13
Today we thank God for the perfect order and unity on which the universe is based, the reasons for which we can barely grasp.
The paradox of action is that the more we give the more we receive.
With intangible and invisible threads we are tied to nature and all humanity. By these ties, it is as if the whole universe is trying to compensate us for what we have given to others.
And when we are compensated we always receive more. One way or another, sooner or later, whether we know it or not, we always receive. Whatever we give out is returned, for better or worse, in equal parts.
With all our imperfections and limitations we are still able to recognize and engage with organizations such as Rotary which, through its activism, opens us to higher dimensions of human existence.
Let us pray to God that, as we pass through this life where we are pulled in many directions, He grant that we always choose values that are true, so that what we share and receive will always be good.
Amen
Invocation 14
God, the source of all that is good, we thank You for Rotary friendship and the friends who have enriched our lives.
The eighth president of Rotary International, RI Albert S Adams, said in his address to the 1920 Rotary convention, ‘The craving for [friendship], which brought Rotary into existence, is the thing that will keep Rotary a living, vital force in the world for all time, the very foundation of our organization.’
It is almost a hundred years since those words were spoken but they still ring with truth and freshness.
The need for friendship has brought us together but work for the good of the community is what strengthens and gives meaning to our association. The symbiosis of friendship and humanitarian works are the essence of Rotary.
Having friends and being a friend is a test of our personal values both ways - giving and receiving.
God, You who are gratitude itself, we ask You to teach us gratitude for the friendship that is all around us, to teach us to offer ourselves to our friends, to teach us that all the people of the world are potential friends if we can only approach them with a smiling face and friendly hand.
Amen
Invocation 15
God, we thank You for the foresight and wisdom of our Rotarian friends who have embraced the motto of the Rotary Movement, ‘service above self’.
Today we serve at local and global levels; we proclaim and bear witness to humanitarian works and their universality.
We serve as professionals in our many callings, brought together by an idea of humanity and the striving for excellence in service.
“Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking“, the words of the late Bernard M. Baruch – American financier, philanthropist and statesman.
The first and very important step in service is listening. In order to be able to hear others it is necessary to still the clamour within ourselves, with all our thoughts and preconceptions. We must listen and look with our hearts.
Even if we can do nothing else, we can serve with the simple, warm, human gesture of listening to those who feel abandoned and forgotten.
God, the source of virtue, please grant us the patience to listen to others’ problems and the determination to find ways of helping.
Amen
Invocation 16
We thank God today for the meaning and order on which the world rests.
Like the grain of wheat that grows and then falls to the ground, so man completes his life’s purpose and goes back to the ground from which he came.
Everything has its own purpose, beginning and end, and everything that man has created travels the same path.
Rotary began at a time when traditional relationships between individuals were overturned; people started looking for material benefits, forgetting personal contribution to the greater good.
Today, after more than a century since the founding of Rotary, the world has changed but Rotary’s place, and the need for its work, remains.
God, who guides us all, direct our thoughts and actions so that they best contribute to the happiness and wellbeing of individuals and the community. And when we complete our task, help us to calmly let go of yesterday and direct our attention toward tomorrow.
Amen
Invocation 17
God who guides us all, today we thank You for all the people who have come into our lives, touched us and put us on the path of humanitarian works which led us here, to this Rotary club, among friends, gathered around community goals of helping others.
The American painter and writer Flavia Weedn once nicely observed that “Some people come into our lives and quickly go…….Some stay in our lives for a awhile, leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same .”
Rotarians are individuals who, with the noblest intentions, enter into someone’s life and make some change, whether small or large. Only selfless people led by a true love of humanity can give and not expect anything in return.
But the trails that we leave behind….? God, may those trails one day follow those in whose hearts we have remained. Let not time erase them, not for our sake but for those who are still to come.
For ourselves, we Rotarians pray to God that our entry into other people’s lives not be intrusive, that we always respect human life in need and that we be worthy of playing the part of one who has the power to help.
Amen
Invocation 18
God, today we thank You for Rotary’s activism and proactiveness. It is a way of life to which Rotary guides, encourages and commits us.
Being busy with professional commitments it is hard for us to find the time for social engagements and voluntary work.
But, however little time we have and however tired we may be, we must always be immersed in the river of good which despite all hardships, endures and carries our faith in human goodness.
We need to keep helping as long as we are able and have anything to offer. When our strength has gone, our economic and social power with it, and the problems of age have caught up with us, the fulfilled life will be the one that was proactive and selfless.
The Croatian theologian Stjepan Lice said, ‘Don’t postpone the moment when the flame of your soul will shine. Everything that you are comes together in that moment.’
God, the source of inspiration, we pray for the moments when we will express that which is best in us, when we give ourselves to the community and those in need, and look for nothing in return. We pray for wisdom to know when to act and for courage to go forward.
Amen
Invocation 19
Almighty God, we want to thank You for the gift of self critical questioning and the ability to change ourselves through our own free will.
We have become used to thinking about trust between people but we rarely ask ourselves about the trust we have in ourselves.
Do we have it in ourselves individually as well as in the club? Do we have as much trust in ourselves as others have in us?
Rotarian friends, let us believe in the truth and the worth of our ideals. Let us believe what we say when we express commitment to the service of others. Let our words and goals encourage us. In the clash between reality and our vision may we look more towards our goals than our difficulties.
God, to Whom everything is possible, we pray that You help us go through life on a straight path of strong ethics and principles. Let us always live in peace with You, ourselves and others.
Let our minds be always balanced so that others can lean on us.
And when we doubt ourselves and our abilities, may there be a friend beside us whose confidence in us will draw out the best from us.
Amen
Invocation 20
Almighty God, the source of all virtue, we thank You for the responsibility which the Rotary movement shows towards the present and the future of the world.
We thank You because we belong to an organization which, long ago in 1978, started a 3H project - health, hunger and humanity grants – that is still going and through which a million Rotarians across the world are involved in solving health problems, reducing hunger and promoting humanitarianism in relations between nations.
‘The salvation of mankind lies only in making everything the concern of all.’ So said Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian novelist, dramatist and historian.
God, the source of strength, we pray, as individuals and as a club, that despite our own problems we always find the strength, will and time to help others; that we will be a force for doing good; that we will join with like minded individuals and organizations and, with our combined strength, do more for the dignity of life, better understanding and peace among all people.
Amen
Invocation 21
God, we thank You for the Rotary organization that brings us together professionally and ethically. We give thanks for the courage it gives us to change ourselves and those around us through an active approach to the imperfections of the world in which we find ourselves.
Whether a grain planted in the ground fulfils its purpose and sprouts depends on the presence of moisture and warmth and not on the size of the grain.
On what does the fulfilment of our purpose, as responsible individuals and Rotarians, depend?
Are we going to be an active part of the solution to a problem or shall we be happy with a small contribution while lamenting and rationalizing our helplessness and inability to do more?
The answer is hidden in the words of the American author Zig Ziglara: “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
A committed attitude to service above self brought us to Rotary but the depth to which we are imbued with that spirit will determine the heights of our performance.
God, the source of virtue, please give us the spiritual strength with which to build the determination to serve others.
Amen
Invocation 22
God, we thank You for the parents, teachers and others who bring up our children and for all the wonderful people who have passed on their love, knowledge and moral principles to us. We thank You for all those who have helped us succeed in life so that we in Rotary today can help others.
Preserving our communities and raising children so that they become contributing members of our society is perhaps the greatest task of every individual and of the community as a whole.
More than 2,100 years ago the Roman poet Caecilius Statius wrote, “He plants trees to benefit another generation”.
Planting well, into fertile and well prepared soil, is the greatest thing we can do to ensure future growth. That is why Rotary has made good its commitment to younger generations through the fifth avenue of service we call “New Generations”.
God, by Your providence we pray that You lead us on the road where we will, within the limits of our powers, help our young generation.
Help us understand the young, their problems and the challenges they face.
Help us understand what is truly valuable that we need to impart to them and how we may guide them to wisdom.
Amen
Invocation 23
We thank God that we as individuals, community and the whole human race, are tied by invisible threads of compassion and solidarity.
In an imperfect world, hope is the last refuge for the dreams of a better and fairer society for those who can do little for themselves.
In times when a person feels abandoned and without a future, hope is the space in which the ties that bind individuals and communities are preserved.
That space can shrink over time until it disappears in resignation leaving scars on the soul.
That space of hope is properly a part of Rotary and of all those who are prepared to listen to the problems of others and to help.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” said Vincent van Gogh.
God, we pray that, despite the personal problems that we face daily, our good works become the threads that bind us to all the people of the world.
Let us live in the knowledge of the unity of giving and receiving.
Amen
Invocation 24
Today we thank God for the teamwork which is the foundation of Rotary. We are grateful that our members, respected in their professions, leaders in their workplaces, come together as equals working towards common goals.
Sometimes it seems that it would be easier and quicker to carry out some club ideas and activities individually. It can appear that the effort to bring people together to work on a particular task is out of proportion to the end result. However, Rotary leads us to each other, to the synergy of enthusiasm, knowledge, ideas and capability.
The former American professional basketballer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.”
A Rotary club is above all a team of professionals who work together voluntarily for the common good.
We therefore pray to the Almighty in Whom all our hopes rest, that He lead us on the path of fellowship and that every one of us here finds the place and the level at which we can best contribute to the collective endeavours of the whole club.
Amen
Invocation 25
Friends, today we thank God for the opportunity to participate through Rotary in the fight against polio.
William Gates Snr, co-president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, addressing the 2003 Rotary conference in Seattle said: “Back when Rotary became involved with polio, most people thought volunteer organizations were about tackling projects down the street or across town – not across the world. Rotary changed all that, and in the process, you reminded us that there is no human problem so daunting that it can’t be overcome by people.”
Important goals fall to those who dare to dream, who do not listen to the faint hearted when they say something is impossible, who are led by love of mankind and who know that every journey begins with one step.
They fall to those who are prepared to deny themselves, whose goals are more important than personal ambition, who carry on even when they know that they will not live to see their dreams come to fruition.
We pray to God who grants and safeguards everything that He bless us with:
• vision at every level of our work
• wisdom in our decision making
• courage in starting major humanitarian projects and
• perseverance and trust in Him to Whom everything is possible.
Amen
Invocation 26
To begin, we thank God for all the successes and major projects of our club and the Rotary movement across the world.
We may think that as a club we have already reached our stellar moments and that it would be hard to go beyond them?
The answer is in a speech given by the thirty third president of Rotary International in 1944 who said, “If we ever reach the point where we can feel that the greatest and noblest things that Rotary could possibly do have already been done, at that very moment our organization will begin to disintegrate.”
From these words we understand that goodness and doing good are without limits, and if limits exist it is only because we have put them there. Failing to attempt to do more means doing less and less.
Great and good humanitarian tasks, well executed, are like stars shining from the heavens, giving light to their communities. If we want our star to shine from the heavens we need to be daring and shoot it up there.
God, the source of all goodness, help us to keep our eyes on the best examples of good works, make our goals clear and give us the courage to reach out for them.
Amen
Invocation 27 - new friends in the club
We thank God for Rotary which has lifted the concept of friendship to the collective and global levels. We can call on more than a million Rotarian friends around the globe and approach them with confidence.
And as long as friendship across the world confirms in us the belief that good will always overcome all differences, friends in our club will enrich our lives.
Everyone can be a book of life from whom we can learn. Everyone is unique and enters and enriches our life in their own way.
Today we thank God for our new friends who will become full members of our club. We look forward to socializing, deepening our friendships and working in the service of the needy.
May the Almighty help us to walk in harmony with one another and turn our view to the problems of the weak. May He bless us with a life of joy and give us the strength and courage to face any problems we meet.
Amen
Invocation 28
There are times in life when we, both individually and as a club, feel compassion for others and believe that something needs to be done to help.
But while on the one hand there is a desire to help, on the other there is doubt in our own powers.
On the one hand is the heart that says go while on the other is our rational self, bringing everything into doubt, saying, “stop, wait”.
In this dilemma some words from Vincent van Gogh may help: “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”
As fishermen accept stormy seas so we Rotarians need to accept hardships and difficulties in the course of doing good.
God, the source of wisdom and certainty, we pray that You be with us as we deliberate on our actions, when we execute on our decisions and especially when we doubt our own strength.
Amen
Invocation 29
Kahlil Gibran said, “There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward”.
It is indeed wonderful to help and then enjoy the happiness of those whom we have encouraged. It is the reward of those who are pure of heart.
In thanking God that we have more than we need we freely give to those in greater need.
Our happiness comes from the joy of those whom we help, from knowing that we have removed at least one small stone from their life’s path.
God, we pray that You keep us on the path of compassion and benevolence. We pray that the cycle of good works continues through those whom we help now, so that one day when they are more able they will in turn help others.
Amen
Invocation 30
At the very beginning we express our thanks to God for the spirit of friendship and unity in our club.
Back in 1912 the then president of Rotary International wrote in the Rotarian: “A Rotary club gives us an opportunity that no social, political, or specialized business club can do. It is strong on the human side; it stands for the individual, unfetters him, appeals to his originality, brings out his latent powers, and puts him at his best by extending him the full measure of his confidence and appealing to the best that is in him — ‘service not self’.”
Today, as it has for over a hundred years, Rotary spurs every member to the service of others, their community and the community of all the people of the world.
We are all called to dedicate ourselves to others as a way of life, to a life in harmony with the Rotarian slogan, “Service above self”.
God, please lead us, personally and as a club, on a path where we will, in your judgment, be the most useful to others.
May we never tire of listening to the voices of those who plead and let us never turn our eyes away from those who come to us with outstretched hands.
Amen
Invocation 31
God, we thank You today for the many and valuable activities successfully completed by our Rotary club and for the good name that Rotary has in the community.
Since its establishment in 1905 Rotary has run various important projects at both local and global levels that contribute to solving problems and making the world a better place.
Every year while thinking about future projects we feel the need to maintain and raise the quality of our ideas about what we should do next.
It may seem that in societies that are developed and well organized there is less room for significant, truly humanitarian projects.
Noble and worthwhile goals often look to us to be unattainable. We cannot see a way forward, we find ourselves behind a wall of inadequate financing, organization, logistics and the rest.
In this situation it is good to listen to the words of the Croatian Franciscan priest, Fr Miroslav Bustrac: “Realists walk through walls only when idealists break through them with their own heads.”
God, You who know our abilities best, please give us the idealism and the strength that we need to overcome the obstacles we encounter on the path of doing good.
Amen
Invocation 32
Today we thank God for our membership of Rotary, an organization which gathers men and women of honour and good will from among the many peoples and nations of all the continents of the world.
In every moment that fills our life we choose between a proactive and passive attitude. We either accept those moments of reality as an opportunity and a stimulus or we close in on ourselves.
Rotary turns our mind and vision toward the beauty of friendship and to the needy, in our community and around the world. It affirms the importance of community, the unity of the whole planet and of all people. To be in touch with Rotary means to make contact with all people and civilizations of the world. We have a choice in how to use the opportunity which Rotary offers us, whether to be proactive or passive.
God, the source of inspiration and all that is best in us, make us open, understanding and respectful of other cultures. Bless us with humility and generosity when we meet those in need, trust and tactfulness towards everyone and a proactive attitude when we face problems.
Amen
Invocation 33
We thank God for the opportunities we have in this club to deal with many and varied issues.
The tenth president of Rotary International Estes Snedecor announced the year’s program in 1920 with this address, “Every Rotary club should be made a forum before which vital economic and social problems may be fairly and intelligently discussed. Club programs should stimulate thought, widen the horizon, and deepen conviction.”
While we are professionals deeply immersed in the realities of everyday life, as Rotarians we are in a kind of sacred space where we can think freely about a better and more just world and how our drops of individual effort might combine to become a river of life for those less fortunate.
We therefore pray to the Almighty, to Him who is the light that He:
• shine a light on our social problems so that we may understand them better
• lead us on a path where we can best serve, both as a club and individually, and
• light a small spark of enthusiasm in every one of us for the projects of this club.
Amen
Invocation 34
Let us thank God today for the Rotary movement which, with more than a million members and a mission to foster community relationships and help the needy, is one small but important cog in the human social mechanism.
Everything that exists is a part of an ordered and balanced system where everything has its meaning, place and purpose.
The rebelliousness and impetuousness of youth is followed by the wisdom and calmness of later years; our minds and hearts are unsettled until we find and examine ourselves in a bigger picture.
The great physicist Isaac Newton said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
If we pass through our various phases and stages of life by aligning ourselves to higher laws, we contribute to the expansion of the universe and become a constructive part of it. How comforting is it to know that we are part of God’s plan!
Let’s pray to God that our Rotary wheel always turns at a steady speed and in the direction which will be of most value to the goals for which it exists.
Amen
Invocation 35
God, we thank You today for the joy of fellowship which extends from our Rotary table to Rotary tables in the farthest corners of the world.
“What could be more symbolic of Rotary than a great symphony orchestra, bringing together in perfect harmony people from many different countries, nationalities, races, creeds, and cultures, representing many specialized talents but each playing a different note on a different instrument, and each essential for the perfection of the whole?”
This wonderful comparison was made by the forty fifth president of Rotary International A Z Baker in 1956 and it very vividly describes the strength and unity of Rotary based on the skills of each member and the teamwork across all levels of the club; across districts and zones, right up to the central administration.
Let us pray to Him who is infinite and Almighty, who rules the universe in perfect order:
• to continue to conduct this great orchestra
• that our club cooperates well with every part of the organization
• that He bless every one of us with the talent to play our part to perfection.
Amen
Invocation 36
Today we want to offer our thanks for the care the Rotary movement shows to the disadvantaged who are trying to find their place in society. We offer thanks for those whom we had the opportunity to help. Their lived experience reinforces our belief that we are on the right path.
Real value is often hidden under modest exteriors, remaining unseen to the accustomed eye. There are always those who are so quiet that we do not hear their cries.
After unsuccessful appeals and hopes that someone will notice their troubles, they withdraw into themselves, hiding from the feeling that no one cares for them.
The French painter Camille Pissaro said, “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”
The role of Rotary is, among other things, to find and reach out to those who remain outside the streams of community help and who, with a little help, could lift themselves and fly high.
God, who cares about every living being, we pray that You turn our eyes to the hidden places so that we may find those who are humble and deserve our help.
Amen
Invocation 37
Today we give thanks for the first one hundred years of the Rotary movement, for membership of this club and for being part of the Rotary family.
The foundation and the connective tissue that ties people from all corners of the globe, recognized in their professions but who seek no personal advantage, is humility in the service of others.
Sacrifice for the general good, commitment to those in need and living for others, can be the source of the deepest and most powerful satisfaction we can have.
Paradoxically though, while we care for others we can at the same time feel fearful, vulnerable and fragile, despite any external appearance of power and social prestige that we maintain.
In times when we are tossed around like ships on a turbulent sea, we look for undeniable truths and secure anchors, desperately fastening ourselves to them in an effort to save both ourselves and those who reach out to us.
And while Rotary’s clear direction guides us where to drop anchor our own will, strength and determination often fail us.
God, we who are filled with gratitude and aware of our own limitations pray to You to guide our steps so that when we reach the end of our life’s journey we can say, “we are content”.
Amen
Invocation 38
At the beginning we thank Him who is the source of life and who gave us reason to find meaning in everything that surrounds us.
Sooner or later all of us pause for a moment in the race to make money to ask ourselves what is the purpose, meaning and significance of our life.
“Money is central to our lives. Yet money is not of central importance. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the lasting values that make life worth living” said Kent Nerburn, American writer and sculptor.
Although money by its deceptive power pervades all of our everyday activities, it is and must be only a means to an end and not an end in itself.
The Rotary movement has developed and spread throughout the world because Rotarians are men of spirit, because they make philanthropy a goal which draws in others to participate along with the money that is required to realize our goals.
God, You who rules over all, who gave us reason and free will, we pray that You enlighten us so that we may at all times place the spiritual and the eternal above the material and the ephemeral.
Amen
Invocation 39
God, today we want to thank You for the great capacity of the Rotary movement to carry out major humanitarian projects and to answer the needs of the communities in which it lives.
If we knew everything in advance there would be no personal development in our life.
The uncertainty of tomorrow makes us reflect more deeply on courage and exercising patience.
As a Rotary club we are always being tested about which activity to carry out: can we, will we succeed?
Our roadmap could well be the words of Christopher Columbus, “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
We Rotarians will come to know our strengths when we let go the safety of routine activities and fully dedicate ourselves to realizing grand new ideas.
God, who rules and sees everything, turn our minds to ideas that will motivate and encourage us towards actions that are worthy of our abilities.
Amen
Invocation 40
Let us thank God today for belonging to Rotary, for this club and for all our Rotarian friends whose personalities have enriched our lives.
The founder of Rotary, Paul Harris, wrote in the June 1944 issue of The Rotarian, “Is it not a miracle that Rotary has brought together good and influential men of all civilized countries? And is it not gratifying to know that there is a platform broad enough for all men to stand on? And is it not heart-warming to know that men of diverse faiths and allegiances can find so much in each other which is wholesome and good? Rotary is an integrating force in a world where disintegrating forces are far more numerous.”
The possible in the impossible, the realistic in the unrealistic, unity in diversity, strength in weakness. Rotary has elevated these qualities to a universal level of philanthropy where it neither sees nor wants to see the various boundaries between people and nations. They are as nothing against the universality of love which surrounds us all.
We pray to God who always acts with infinite wisdom for our benefit, that:
• Rotary upholds and continues to spread its high ethical standards and ideals
• our club be an active member of the Rotary world
• every one of us be able to feel and enjoy the richness and diversity of Rotary.
Amen
Invocation 41
At the start of this gathering we thank God for the strength of the Rotary movement and the humanitarian missions which it leads in threatened and poverty stricken regions across the globe.
Good health is the greatest desire of everyone who is ill and it is a prerequisite to all our plans for the future. At times of illness we wait grimly, through endless nights, for a new morning. Ill health hampers us in our plans and narrows the vision of our ambition.
An Arabic proverb says, “He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.” Rotary offers hope. We regularly see pictures of our distinguished Rotary friends, medical volunteers who help in the prevention and cure of diseases in disadvantaged parts of the world. Their work demonstrates the deeply humanitarian side of Rotary, their own personal kindness and empathy and gives hope to those who need it the most.
God, we pray that You help us to discover our own capabilities as volunteers in humanitarian missions and open people’s hearts so that we can raise the funds for much needed medicines.
Amen
Invocation 42
God, we thank You that in all times, societies and organizations there are those who have the gift of prophesy to show others the right path; people who are worthy of their positions of first among equals.
We are grateful that we had Richard H Wells from the Pocatello Rotary club, Idaho, USA as a Rotary friend. As the thirty fourth president of Rotary International at the Rotary convention in 1943, he gave us this message, “We can tell people how glad we are to belong to such a fine organization. We can tell of our achievements. But Rotary will never flourish and never accomplish those dreams we are so proud to own unless we can so live that Rotary may be proud of us.”
God, You who answers the prayers of the just, help us to live a life that will witness the best values of Rotary. Let there always be love and gentleness in our words, compassion for the weak in our work, and noble thoughts and feelings in our hearts and minds.
Amen
Invocation 43
Let us thank God for the high demands which Rotary places on us and for our good physical and material health that makes it possible for us to achieve our humanitarian goals.
Back in 1951 the then president of Rotary International said, “Rotary is a fellowship of noblemen; not a hereditary nobility but a nobility that must be earned and re-earned. Nobility is measured by its obligations, not by its rights and privileges: “service above self.”
These words are a stark reminder to all of us that while our invitation to join Rotary may have been based on reputation our continuing membership is justified only by what we do for others.
Helping others, altruism and deeply humanitarian goals are the purpose and meaning of Rotary.
These qualities of sacrifice, personal contribution and teamwork are the strengths which have bound members and sustained Rotary for more than one hundred years.
Therefore, let us pray to God who is Love, who loves the world and every one of us, that He bless us with a love for all men so that we may fulfil the purpose of Rotary with grace and gladness.
Amen
Invocation 44
Today we thank God for our membership of this Rotary club and the opportunity it gives us for personal development through the projects of this club, and all the clubs around the world that are part of Rotary International.
Let us dwell for a moment and consider our lives as Rotarians through the prism of the passing of time and think about how we can best use that time.
We save time and money whenever we have them but we can only help others when we are in strength and have the power to do so.
These moments of material security and the ability to help are neither long nor sure, therefore let us use them to lay down a path to the stars.
Even though our view is often clouded by everyday worries, and it seems that we’re facing a wall, we need to make a start. The American writer Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
God, we pray for youthful enthusiasm, for honest motives when we offer our help, for zeal when thinking of ways to help, for courage when we make decisions to act and for leadership in all that we do.
Amen
Invocation 45
Today we thank God for Rotary which brings together selfless individuals on the road of humanitarian endeavour.
We need to choose carefully the ideas to which we open ourselves. We need to watch that our predisposition towards the material does not close us towards the spiritual. We can add oil to water and it will rise to the top but not if the glass is already full of water.
In the labyrinth of our minds and hearts there is always a place which is not taken up with concerns about our own existence and welfare.
A good authority on human nature is the Croatian priest LB Mandić who said, “No man is so made of mud that there is not in him at least a speck of gold.”
Rotary opens us to the idea of doing good works, and for every humanitarian need that we face it tries to find in us that speck of gold.
God, we pray that our minds be occupied with thoughts about the needs of others, that the meetings of our club be filled with searching for new ways to help, and that we may live in the knowledge that our happiness depends on the happiness of others.
Amen
Invocation 46
Today we thank God for our membership of Rotary, an organization whose primary concern is people and their welfare. Welfare ranging from humanitarian programs through to helping individuals develop and improve ways to personally contribute to a better world.
Rotary is an organization which works within a social and economic framework to create the right conditions for the free flow of human solidarity.
The first step in this is to direct our view from ourselves to the person next to us, to our neighbour. Think of the whole world as a neighbourhood in which everyone is responsible for everything that happens within it.
The forty fifth president of Rotary International, AZ Baker, said that “Rotarians would use their great resources to extend neighbourliness around the world.”
Often when we are burdened by our own worries we stop along the way, overlooking the fact that by encouraging others we embolden ourselves. Therefore, let us always bear in mind the words of the Croatian poet Silvije Strahimir Kranječević, “Wings are shackled to fly faster” or, as we Rotarians would say, “Problems are the best impetus for action.”
God, we pray for judgment and wisdom when planning our activities and for willingness to make sacrifices for the welfare of others.
Amen
Invocation 47
God, we thank You for the Rotary organization which keeps us on the path of truth and philanthropy.
The great challenge for us today is stay on that path while accepting change and recognizing the trends of our time.
Every day we are under pressure in a world which glorifies personal freedom and rejects everything that appears to limit that freedom: moral principles, social norms, obligations to other citizens, neighbours and friends.
Rotary’s mission is to strengthen social ties and responsibility to the community by bringing out the good that is in all people and by encouraging them to move out of the narrow confines of their self interest.
Rotary is a bridge across the human divides of misunderstanding and self regard, connecting people everywhere to bring out the best in everyone.
God, who gives us freedom to choose but who also straightens the path for all, give us the strength to amplify, by our own example, the light that Rotary shines on the world.
Amen
Invocation 48
At the beginning let us thank God for the privilege of cooperating in the work of Rotary, a global organization that promotes high ethical principles.
Alan D Albert, the fifth president of Rotary International, wrote in 1934 about Rotary: “Rotary summons men to respond to their best impulses. ..their best selves... [to] lift up their heads in every land. The best things in us are not confined by national boundaries.”
We can paraphrase a verse from the Croatian poet Tin Ujević who wrote, “Soul, you were created to fly!” and say, “Rotarian friends, we were created to fly.” Freed from all prejudice and looking at a person in need, let us release that which is best in us and fly with the strength of our ideals.
Let us fly with direction and purpose to promote fellowship and solidarity among all men.
We therefore ask Him before whom all of usmen are equal, regardless of race, nationality or creed that He:
•
give us the strength to conduct ourselves at all times according to the highest ideals of truth, justice and love towards our fellow man
•
help us to work according to our conscience and to never act against it out of short term self interest
• help us to build cordial relations with all the people of the world.
Amen
Invocation 49
Let us thank God today for the clear vision of a better world which Rotary offers - world peace, tolerance and solidarity, where all the people of the world live on a universal plane of brotherhood.
Our yesterdays, today and tomorrows are all visions from yesterday, they affect our today and the new reality emerging tomorrow, and so on in an endless cycle throughout our lives
The concepts that we create shape our minds and actions, so it is vital that we choose carefully how we see and think about the world, and how we imagine the coming tomorrow.
Carl Jung said, “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
God, who cares about every living being and whose providence guides this world, help us Rotarians see with our hearts. May our hearts be a window to the world.
Help us do good works as much as it is in our power to do and as much as will help others; not to lift ourselves but to lift others out of the troubles they find themselves.
Amen
Invocation 50
God, who gives us strength we thank You that Rotarians around the globe are living examples of the Rotary principle in action.
In the turbulent year of 1940 the president of Rotary International Walter D Head wrote, “In a world where precious little love is being lost between nations, [the] movement to save the children is revealing man’s best and perhaps truest side. Just how great or small Rotary’s part in this movement will be, nobody can yet say’. But] Rotary will open its great heart and do as it has always done when facing emergency: rise with magnificent courage, grateful for another opportunity to exemplify its one fundamental principle, the service of one’s fellowman.”
We now live in more peaceful times but humanitarian catastrophes arising from climate change and local conflicts are our reality.
God, who gives us strength and courage we pray that You keep our thoughts on people who are endangered by floods, droughts and wars until we have the courage to act, and then give us the strength and wisdom to complete the task.
And let us not dwell on the size of our own contribution as on the question of whether we have done as much as we can.
Amen
Invocation 51
God, we thank You for the contentment that Rotary brings; for the satisfaction in completing each humanitarian project; for the love and gratitude of those we have helped.
When there is not enough time for oneself, one’s family and friends, it is perhaps hard to understand the call to share the little time that is left to help others.
At times like that we should listen to the words of Mother Theresa who dedicated her life to helping the sick and the needy: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
In the laws of the universe cause and effect are closely linked. Our personal peace is a part of our environment and our way of life; our good deeds cause a chain reaction encouraging others until the small wave of charity that we started travels around the world and returns to us as a great wave of happiness that encircles all people of good will.
God, You who are peace, make us peacekeepers and benefactors, help us to deal with the problems of others as well as our own and give us the grace to do it with a generous heart.
Amen
Invocation 52
We thank the almighty God today for being connected, through this club and Rotary International, to all the communities of people on this planet. Our connections build bridges of friendship, cooperation and assistance. We see the whole world as our home.
Even though we may not see it clearly, in this world everything is tied to cause and effect and the ties are our thoughts and actions.
We are like mountain climbers standing between high cliffs where everything that is said is echoed back many times. The cliffs in our lives are people around us, those we call upon and those who call upon us for help. There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Life is an echo; what you send out comes back.”
A wise man sends out words and actions of peace, compassion and encouragement which will come back to him - perhaps from a very different direction and perhaps not immediately but come back they will.
God, who rules all and who gave us freedom in will and action, guide our thoughts and activities in the direction that will help others. And for us, when that echo returns may it bring peace and happiness.
Amen
Invocation 53
God, we thank You today for the noble and high minded ideals which have inspired the Rotary movement for more than one hundred years and which still encourage Rotarians to volunteer work.
From a relaxed gathering of friends grows a care for the general good and, through the Rotarian movement, major global initiatives such as improving literacy, building schools, securing drinking water for people in arid areas, helping in natural disasters, raising the level of health care in deprived regions and the ongoing fight against polio. Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, RI President 2007-08 said, “The magic of Rotary is that it allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”
God, the source of all strength, we pray that You strengthen the spirit of sacrifice in us for the benefit of all those who need our help, and may this magic of Rotary continue to spread throughout the length and breadth of the world.
Amen
Invocation 54
God, we thank You for being able to contribute through Rotary to the development of society by caring about those who come after us.
In life there is a time for everything, including bringing up new generations. Too early and the effort is wasted, too late and the opportunity is lost forever.
A child takes in, listens and watches, his parents, teachers and elders, and is obedient.
But a moment comes in his growth when he begins to be guided only by his own thoughts and attitudes.
From that moment on, parents and others must place all their hopes in what they gave to the child through their words and example. What was sown has sprouted and begins to grow.
Rotary too has its role in the educating our young. While our main role is to help young people with scholarships we also have a duty to teach.
Therefore we pray to God for wisdom and foresight in teaching good habits, for every individual to care for their community and all those who need help.
We pray for wisdom in imparting to our young a sense that giving and receiving are parts of the same circle of life and that there is no balance in life until that circle is closed.
Amen
Invocation 55
We start by thanking God for everything that we have received in this life; for our family and the circumstances in which we grew up, for our career, membership of Rotary and wonderful friends.
Let us reminds ourselves of the roles that Rotarians have in passing on the ideas of charity and humanity across generations. We are mindful of the large number of our friends who provide help either personally or through their clubs across the world.
The American author Edith Wharton wrote, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
From the very beginning Rotarians have taken on the role of bearers of light who bring light and hope into many hearts and corners across the world.
Our duty is to maintain and widen the road that our selfless friends have paved.
God almighty we pray that when we stand on the heights of our success we become beacons to those far away so that we may light the way for others to reach that summit.
Amen
Invocation 56
We thank God for the freedom that we have to choose and plan our Rotary club projects.
Every Rotary club is faced with questions about its limitations such as “What are our capabilities, how much can we do for others?”
The answer is contained in the thoughts of the Danish journalist Karen Ravn who said, “Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”
And if we think about it, we will find that the limits we set ourselves are those we set subconsciously to avoid failure.
We therefore pray to the Almighty that our minds and thoughts be always free and energetic, that the beauty of the goal, and not fear, will determine the limits to which we will dare go.
Knowing that every journey begins with a first step and that only those who make a start can ever succeed, we pray for a youthful spirit that looks more towards the goal than the small difficulties along the way.
Amen
Invocation 57
Today we thank God for being members of this Rotary club – a club that focuses our minds on the needs of those who need our help and on all who are disadvantaged.
The picture of the world that we see before we became fully conscious is filtered through the lens of our character, experiences and sensibility. Everyone experiences the same reality differently because we perceive it simultaneously with our eyes mind and heart.
When we are dealing with club projects and thinking about whom to offer our help, in many ways we project, or portray ourselves. The palette we choose reflects our own abilities attitudes and aspirations. The picture we paint is seen much further than are heard the words we speak.
God, when we find ourselves in the unwelcome role of a judge who must decide who will be granted help, when needs are greater than our capacity, we pray that You bless us and lead us in our deliberations so that the resources entrusted to us are used in the best possible way.
Amen
Invocation 58
We thank the Almighty for everything that is good in Rotary, for friends in the club, for friendships across the world, for good company and shared activities.
Sir Henry Braddon, president of the Sydney Rotary club in 1921-22 wrote, “One way in which Rotary develops the individual is in preserving the boy in him. Deep down in the heart of every good fellow there is a boy, a boy whose outlook on life is rather wonderful, unspoiled, with no prejudice, no intolerance, with keen enthusiasm, ready friendliness. It is a sad day for a man when the boy can be said to have passed away. As long as a man keeps his mind resilient, his nature open to friendly influences, he will never grow entirely old. Rotary encourages and helps to develop him by keeping the boy alive in him.”
Those who keep the boy in them alive, those who look on the world with their hearts, those who allow themselves to dream and believe in a better world, will always remain young.
Let’s pray to the GoLord who grants all mercy and blessing, that He protect the youthful spirit in all Rotarians, that He bless us with an enthusiasm for all that is good and humane and for a positive outlook on life that will overcome all passing difficulties.
Amen
Invocation 59
God, the source of all that is good, we thank You today for the decision by Rotary International in 1985 to declare literacy as precondition to development of peace, a declaration that launched Rotary clubs on the great campaign of reducing illiteracy in the world.
Rotary has dedicated the month of March to literacy, inspired by these words: “Once you have learned to read you will be forever free.”
The words were uttered by a man born at the start of the nineteenth century as a slave. Learning to read and write widened his knowledge, enabled him to actively participate in the fight for human rights and at the end to become an advisor to Abraham Lincoln. His name was Frederick Douglass.
We who are fortunate to be in the majority who are literate must remember those who are not, those billion or more people who still wait for their chance to learn to read and write and to join in the global exchange of knowledge and culture.
Therefore let u’s pray to the Almighty to show us the path to how we can help personally and how to be a part of more than half of the 34,000 Rotary clubs around the world who are engaged in this project.
Amen
Invocation 60
Let us thank God today for being a part of the great family of Rotarians whose humanitarian works and efforts to lift people into prosperity across the world has earned Rotary such great respect.
We are grateful that Rotary has called us to its membership, recognising our value as individuals but more importantly our capacity to contribute to Rotary’s humanitarian goals.
When we look up from the comfort of our own lives and see pictures of people lacking drinking water, food, medical care, education, even a roof over their heads, we feel the need to do something, but often the task seems too daunting, like facing a huge mountain that appears impossible to cross.
The Swedish statesman Dag Hammarskjöold gave this advice, “Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.”
God, the source of all hope, give us the insight to judge whose need is the greatest, the courage to undertake new humanitarian projects and the tenacity to pursue them to completion.
Amen
Invocation 61
God, we thank You today for the opportunity to spend time in the company of Rotarian friends. We thank You for bringing them into our life.
Time is a gift we received when we came into this world but like the sand in an hourglass, it flows away irretrievably. The idea that time is a finite and valuable resource moved Roman philosopher Seneca to write, “Do not take away my time because you cannot return it”.
Sharing time with friends is like giving a gift. It confirms -our worth in their eyes since they are prepared to gives us some of their valuable time.
Every gathering of Rotary friends, people like minded in spirit and strong in personality, enriches our life, reminds us that we are not alone in our efforts to make a better world and encourages us to persevere.
We pray to God, who holds our time in His hands, for judgment in how best to use the time that we have. May it be productive to us, our families, friends and everyone else that we are able to help. May Your providence guide us in this as in all things.
Amen
Invocation 62
Let us offer thanks today for the hope which Rotarians bring to all the corners of the world. We offer thanks for being an active part of the movement which draws good people from many nations and religions to a noble cause.
Blessed are those who travel the path of life spreading hope of a better tomorrow - they are witness to goodness which transcends national, religious and racial differences.
Only a strong and noble spirit can helps those from whom they expect nothing is expected. However little we have we can always help.
The American journalist Erma Bombeck said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything You gave me’.”
God, the source of benevolence and hope, help us Rotarians to witness with our own lives the solidarity among men, and when at the end of life we see You face to face may we not have a single talent left that we did not use to help others.
Amen
Invocation 63
Heavenly Father accept our thanks for the successful work of our club and the opportunity that we have through Rotary to help the less fortunate. Thank You for the wonderful friends in the club who have enriched our lives.
We are often confronted in our private, professional and club lives with the question: Which way do we go? What next?
The answer is regularly offered as a choice between what is easy and hard, between what is familiar and unexplored, between what is risky and certain.
Harold R McAlindon, a recognized leader of many institutions and well known speaker on business management advised, “Do not follow where that path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
We Rotarians are called to pave paths of humanitarian works through the forests of society’s neglect where people are too weak to help themselves.
As individuals who are established in our professions we are strong, and therefore it is our duty to help carry the burden of the weak. Service above self is always our enduring goal.
God, bless us with insight as we look around our community seeking areas where we can best engage.
Bless us with courage when we undertake new projects and may Your providence guide us in everything we do.
Amen
Invocation 64
Today we thank God for belonging through this club to Rotary International – an organization with a great reputation for what it does and how it is run.
We live in a time when the economic and social environment changes quickly so it is necessary to look for new answers to the challenges of the time and for new ways of expressing them.
Like other clubs we always align our aims, capabilities, skills and structure to evolving needs and circumstances.
There is an old African proverb that says if you want to go quickly, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.
In the life of the club, going together means harmonizing the views and activities of friends in all the important questions we face. This is both a check and an affirmation of the foundations on which Rotary rests.
As we chart a common course we pray to God for wisdom and vision in our deliberations so that every friend finds their place in the club organization and that the club bears witness to the commitment of its members to the service of community and help for individuals.
Amen
Invocation 65
God we thank You for the positive and optimistic attitude of Rotary towards life and the future. We thank You for putting people at the centre of our interest and activities.
Overwhelmed by human imperfection we walk on drifts of prejudice and various kinds of egotism. As we stumble in such a world Rotary guides our view towards firm ground, to people. It raises our sights from the ground on which we walk and connects it to people in need, encouraging us to seek and motivating us to the best that is in us.
Mother Tereza said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
God, who is the source of love and who foresees everything, help us to approach others by looking for the beauty in them that will motivate our efforts. Please make us aware of our own imperfections so that we are neither arrogant nor judgmental and let us not judge others by different standards than ourselves.
Amen
Invocation 66
God, thank You for Rotary which makesing the world a better place to live, thank You for the happiness of those to whom it has returned a smile to their faces.
And what is a smile worth, particularly a child’s? Is it possible to measure the scale of the loss when a child loses their smile to a life long illness? Like a bird with a broken wing who will never fly, the loss of a child to polio is incalculable.
Ever since Rotary began collecting money in 1985 for polio vaccines and other chronic diseases millions of children in undeveloped and developing countries have been saved from a tragic but completely preventable disease.
This program protects children across the world, wherever Rotary is involved and will go on until polio is finally eradicated.
God, who is the instigator of all, help us to be more compassionate and more willing to make sacrifices, to raise more funds for the purchase of vaccines, to protect children from these illnesses and keep the smiles on their faces.
Amen
Invocation 67
We give thanks today for the positive social role which Rotary plays and for our good fortune in being a part of this important global movement.
In the cycle of life the great and the strong help the small and the weak in the process of growth. They impart the experience and wisdom of their years, encouraging others to take over and lead the world.
When a parent helps their own child that is the parent’s duty. If someone helps and receives payment for it we say that they are doing their job. But when someone helps only because they are led by their heart then we call that by another name and one of them is Rotary.
Rotarians know the truth which Barbara Colorose, author and educator, expressed with the words, “The beauty of empowering others is that your own power is not diminished in the process.”
Indeed Rotarians know that such knowledge, love and solidarity multiplies as it is shared among others. We give and become richer.
God, the source of love among us, please sustain in us the flame of solidarity and generosity towards people in need.
Amen
Invocation 68
God, thank You for blessing us with a successful professional life, membership of this club and the opportunity to attend this meeting.
The third president of Rotary, Russell F Greiner, in his inauguration address in 1913 posed this rhetorical question, “What constitutes a successful man? He must possess these qualifications: honesty, ability, initiative, enthusiasm, tact and sincerity.”
We Rotarians are called to witness by example a combination of success, honesty, enthusiasm, humanity, tolerance and principle. We are called to promote high professional and ethical values at all times and in all places.
To be worthy of the respect of Rotary we pray to the Almighty to help us:
• make honesty our way of life
• always act professionally
• have courage to act even when it means having to endure the greatest burden
• maintain enthusiasm that will spill over to others
• be gentle with everyone and
• find the strength to speak frankly even when it is not popular
We pray for all this with unbounded hope in Your providence.
Amen
Invocation 69
God, who cares for all of us, we thank You for making Rotary a part of Your plan to help others.
We give thanks for the opportunity to serve through Rotary and the blessings we receive through that service.
The motto of Rolf Klärich, president of RI 1980-81 was “Take Time to Serve”.
Let’s pause for a moment and connect this slogan to Mother Teresa’s idea that “If we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
Care and concern for those who need help is the best expression of belonging to a community - local or global.
Service to others has a therapeutic effect and brings happiness to those who do it with a willing heart. Therefore let us take time out to help others and we will have peace in our hearts.
It is a paradox that the more we give of ourselves the more we receive. But that is a blessing that God grants to those who work with Him for a better and more beautiful world.
God, please strengthen our determination to serve all those who need our help, may we not tire of helping.
Amen
Invocation 70
Today we give thanks for the cycle of growth and maturity and the uniqueness of this day. It is part of a pattern of life in this club which will, when complete, be a witness to Rotary’s work towards important objectives.
The Canadian poet Alden Nowlan wrote, “The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself he becomes wise.”
Paraphrasing this thought we could perhaps say, “When we engage ourselves with Rotary we show readiness to serve ‘above self’. When we overcome doubts and obstacles that stand between us and those whom we wish to help we become mature Rotarians. The moment when we recognise greater imperfections in ourselves than in those we wish to serve we become true Rotarians.”
God, You who see the beginning and the end, the purpose and meaning of everything, help us to support the weak. Please give us wisdom, resolution and selflessness when we place ourselves in the service of the community, especially those who most need our help.
Amen
Invocation 71
To begin today’s meeting let us express our thanks to God for the happiness we have in the fellowship of Rotarian friends, for having the means to help others and finally, for being members of this great organization founded on humanitarian ideals.
Conscious of our connection with all humanity at a depth we can barely recognize, our duty is to take the happiness and blessings in our lives and spread them around the world.
Our happiness will last and become greater only if we share it - if we try to make others happier, make their lives easier, help them take a step further than they could on their own.
God, the source of all life, You gave us happiness that comes from our relationship with other people and our community. We know that there can never be true happiness in a life that is isolated from others.
We pray that this group of friends always looks to those who need us, that our hearts show compassion and our hands readiness to help.
Amen
Invocation 72 - start of a new Rotary cycle
At the start of this new Rotary cycle we thank the Almighty for the past Rotary year, for good company, for the outgoing administration and all the supporters of our club.
The Rotary movement stands on two pillars: friendship and service above all else.
We put them before us as the purpose of our meetings and work to achieve them.
Doing this we ensure the successful growth of this club and its good works, which are badly needed in this world.
Serving above all, serving proudly, serving unconditionally, contributes to a happy and fulfilled life! Maybe we won’t always do as much as we can but intentions and attitude to life are important - we may occasionally wander off the path but they will surely lead us back to our goals.
“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” The words belong to Henry Ford but they well express the purpose of Rotarian friendship.
Let’s pray therefore to the Almighty for the gift of tolerance, selflessness and generosity so that we may help our friends bring out, and show to the whole community, that which is best in them.
But above all, we pray that we may find friendship by always being good friends to others.
Amen
Invocation 73 – end of a Rotary Year
God, we thank You for a successful end to this Rotarian year; for the blessings which we have received through service with our Rotarian friends in this club, headed by friend (*)
Our honoured friends who today pass on their responsibilities to others have by their own selfless example shown us the meaning of the Rotarian motto, “Service above self.”
We stand here facing the challenges of the coming year with faith in You and confidence in our success because it is in Your hands. You care that there is goodness in everyone and always guide the hands of those who help others.
We pray that You endow the members of the new presidency, headed by friend (**), with wisdom, vision and stamina; that they lead in service, preserve everything that is good in the club and have the strength to change what is needed.
At the end we ask for Your blessing for this group that has gathered together for one goal – to spread friendship and provide help to those in need.
Amen
(*) The name of the outgoing president
(**) The name of the new president
Invocation 74 - end of a Rotary Year
We are not sure what tomorrow brings but we surely know who holds our future in their hands. Therefore, as we enter into new ventures we have faith in Him who straightens all our paths and cares that the seed falls on fertile soil and produces a good crop.
We thank You Lord who has called us to live our lives in this community, through this club and the Rotary family through which we practice service.
We give thanks for another successfully completed Rotary cycle. We give thanks for the blessings we have received through our Rotarian friends and the leadership of this club in the past year, led by friend (*),
We pray that You endow the new presidency, and its head, friend (**) with wisdom, vision and stamina.
May Your strength and wisdom touch all of us so that we may be able to respond to the demands of the times with high ethical principles contained in the four questions that guide Rotarian action:
• Is it the truth?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Will it build good will and better friendships?
• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Finally, we pray for Your blessing on this gathering that has come together with the one aim of spreading friendship and helping others.
Amen
(*) The name of the outgoing president
(**) The name of the new president
Invocation 75
God, we thank You for the time that we are about to spend in the company of good and dear friends. We are in the company of people who have been called to this club by virtue of their special qualities. We are honoured to sit with them at the same table.
In their Christmas card of 1930 the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris, and his wife Jean wrote about the essential things in their life: “we….realized that there are things without which life would be so sterile that it might as well end. If there were no such things as fellowship with friends and communion with loved ones, life would be darker than a starless night.”
The foundation of Rotary is friendship but the visible mark of Rotary is service for the general good.
God, who embraces and sustains us all, help us spread friendship that is firm and true within Rotary across the world, friendship that will stand as witness to Your love for every living being, regardless of race, religion or nationality.
Amen
Invocation 76 – death of a friend
God, who governs life and death, we thank You today for the opportunity of having spent a part of our lives walking the Rotarian path with our recently departed friend (*).
One Rotary star has been extinguished, one book of life has been closed, one chair in our club is empty, and in all our hearts there is mute silence.
The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “When a great man dies, for years the light he leaves behind him, lies on the paths of men.”
Our friend is one of those who lit the Rotarian fire (from the establishment of our club) and worked for many years to ensure the flame burned undiminished.
One thing is sure, we will often remember our friend, a great Rotarian and a man of strong character; he will leave a lasting mark on the work of our club.
God, we pray that You take our friend into Your mercy. For those of us who continue our life’s journey, knowing that birth and death are parts of the same path, help us to live a life that will find favour in Your eyes.
Amen
(*) Name of the deceased friend
Invocation 77 – death of a friend
Today we thank God for the privilege of having been friends in this club with (*).
At the moment when (*) crossed the threshold of the great secret and we in sorrow accepted the new reality, we became conscious in an instant of the transcending power of friendship.
Each of us is more than a unique unit. We are neither self creating nor fully self sufficient. Even a plant carries the mark of the place where it grew. In all of us is a small part of the soil and society where we were born and grew up; a part of the character of the friends and companions with whom we grew up.
Our club is more than the sum of its current members; it is the essence of the personality and energy of all the past and present friends. They are all part of the corporate memory of the club.
Let us pray to God who in His inscrutable way straightens our path,; that our club always finds a way to preserve the memory and estimation of the contribution of past members so that when faced with new challenges we will find the best response through collective experience, memory and strength.
Amen
(*) Name of the deceased friend
Invocation 78
God, we thank You for the spirit of humility and service in Rotary,; for our critical examination of the role of the club,of ourselves personally and of how we express real love towards other people and their dignity.
Maybe we think that the help we provide is small. Maybe we have pangs of conscience because we could have given more but didn’t, or we wanted to but were not able. Maybe we don’t give even the little we can because we think it is too little and we cannot give more.
Blessed are those who labour over these questions, blessed because their hearts are open to the suffering of others, because being themselves involved in the course of helping others, they will receive compassion and help when they are in need.
The sun cannot light every small part of the planet nor can we Rotarians answer every request for help that comes to us. But, if we move even one stone and enable one plant that has sprouted under it to continue growing, we have done much, almost the impossible. But it is often like that in life: that which is insignificant to us can mean much to others.
God, You who know our abilities the best, please fill our hearts with compassion for those in need and direct us to where we can do the most good.
Amen
Invocation 79
God, we thank You for our membership of this club and through it the global Rotary movement which gives us strength and joins us in service ‘above self’.
While we gladly and decisively undertake humanitarian projects in local communities, when we look at the wider picture of the world and its multitude of problems our enthusiasm can often quickly wane.
Is the sight of endless human suffering, sickness and homeless people living in tents so hard to watch that we turn away?
Disturbed and somewhat afraid of the scale of the challenge and our estimate of our own abilities we are prepared to remain in the safe harbour of club meetings and ongoing local projects. But, is that the right path?
The answer comes from author John Augustus Shedd who said, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for.”
Rotary’s mission, its global organization, is directed at resolving local and global problems. They can be great but so is the strength of the Rotary movement.
God, may Your providence lead us to meet the challenges which exceed the strength of our club and may Rotarian friends always be found in other clubs and countries who can come to our aid.
Amen
Invocation 80
God, we thank You for coming into contact, through this club, with those who are truly in need of our help; they are for us a real blessing. As an oak needs storms to strengthen it so we need to experience suffering and service to become better people.
We understand and sympathize with people whose life’s journey is similar to ours. But what of others?
That is where Rotary provides a bridge and encourages us towards solidarity with people in whose shoes we can never walk. We will never know their thirst for drinking water nor share a refugee tent with them. But if we are to be worthy of the respect in which this organization is held we will extend a helping hand and serve above all.
We can paraphrase the words of the Croatian poet A B Šimić who said “Man, take care not to walk small under the stars” and say, “Rotarian friends, let us take care not to walk small on the avenues of Rotarian service.”
God, to Whom we always turn, help us to be big in service and small in self importance. Help us to walk honourably along the avenue of service.
Amen
Thank you for reading, and if I may ask you please continue to spread the message of goodness. - V. Šilović
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