Commontide
Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child
Heavenly Father, your Son our Savior took young children into his arms and blessed them: Strengthen N. to be a wholesome and godly example, a companion, and an encourager to his new brother. Keep them from strife and discord, and when they hurt one another, give them your grace readily to forgive; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.
A prayer for an older child when a new sibling arrives, composed for the ACNA Book of Common Prayer (2019). It draws on the gospel scene of Jesus taking children into his arms, asking that the sibling become an encourager rather than a source of strife.