The United Church of Christ is the result of the 1957 merger of the Congregationalist Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
If the Book of Common Prayer perfected the single paragraph Collect, surely the 1941 Evangelical and Reformed hymnal perfected the multi-petition Litany.
Here is one of those gems:
Almighty and everlasting God,
before whom stand the spirits of the living and the dead;
Light of all lights,
Fountain of wisdom and goodness,
who livest in all pure and humble and gracious souls.
For all who have witnessed a good confession for thy
glory and the welfare of the world;
for patriarchs,prophets, and apostles;
for the wise of every land and nation,
and all teachers of mankind,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the martyrs of our holy faith,
the faithful witness to Christ of whom the world was not worthy, and for all who have resisted falsehood and wrong
unto suffering of death,
Lord, in your mercy....
For all who have labored and suffered for freedom,
good government,
just laws, and the sanctity of the home;
and for all who have given their lives for their country,
Lord, in your mercy....
For all who have sought to bless men by their service and life,
and to enlighten the dark places of the earth,
Lord, in your mercy....
For those who have been tender and brave in all times and places, and for all who have been one with thee
in the communion of Christ’s spirit
and in the strength of his love,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the dear friends and kindred,
ministering in the spiritual world,
whose faces we see no more, but whose love is with us for ever,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the teachers and companions of our childhood and youth,
and for the members of our household of faith
who worship thee in heaven,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the grace which was given to all these,
and for the trust and hope in which they lived and died,
Lord, in your mercy....
And that we may hold them in continual remembrance,
that the sanctity of their wisdom and goodness
may rest upon our earthly days,
and that we may prepare ourselves to follow them
in their upward way,
Lord, in your mercy....
That we may ever think of them as with thee,
and be sure that where they are,
there we may be also,
Lord, in your mercy....
That we may have a hope beyond this world
for all thy children,
even for wanderers who must be sought and brought home;
that we may be comforted and sustained by the promise
of a time when none shall be a stranger
and an exile from thy kingdom and household,
Lord, in your mercy..
In the communion of the Holy Spirit,
with the faithful and the saintly in heaven,
with the redeemed of all ages,
with our beloved who dwell in thy presence and peace,
we, who still serve and suffer on earth,
unite in ascribing
Thanksgiving, Glory, Honor, and Power unto Thee,
O Lord our God, now and forever.
If the Book of Common Prayer perfected the single paragraph Collect, surely the 1941 Evangelical and Reformed hymnal perfected the multi-petition Litany.
Here is one of those gems:
Almighty and everlasting God,
before whom stand the spirits of the living and the dead;
Light of all lights,
Fountain of wisdom and goodness,
who livest in all pure and humble and gracious souls.
For all who have witnessed a good confession for thy
glory and the welfare of the world;
for patriarchs,prophets, and apostles;
for the wise of every land and nation,
and all teachers of mankind,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the martyrs of our holy faith,
the faithful witness to Christ of whom the world was not worthy, and for all who have resisted falsehood and wrong
unto suffering of death,
Lord, in your mercy....
For all who have labored and suffered for freedom,
good government,
just laws, and the sanctity of the home;
and for all who have given their lives for their country,
Lord, in your mercy....
For all who have sought to bless men by their service and life,
and to enlighten the dark places of the earth,
Lord, in your mercy....
For those who have been tender and brave in all times and places, and for all who have been one with thee
in the communion of Christ’s spirit
and in the strength of his love,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the dear friends and kindred,
ministering in the spiritual world,
whose faces we see no more, but whose love is with us for ever,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the teachers and companions of our childhood and youth,
and for the members of our household of faith
who worship thee in heaven,
Lord, in your mercy....
For the grace which was given to all these,
and for the trust and hope in which they lived and died,
Lord, in your mercy....
And that we may hold them in continual remembrance,
that the sanctity of their wisdom and goodness
may rest upon our earthly days,
and that we may prepare ourselves to follow them
in their upward way,
Lord, in your mercy....
That we may ever think of them as with thee,
and be sure that where they are,
there we may be also,
Lord, in your mercy....
That we may have a hope beyond this world
for all thy children,
even for wanderers who must be sought and brought home;
that we may be comforted and sustained by the promise
of a time when none shall be a stranger
and an exile from thy kingdom and household,
Lord, in your mercy..
In the communion of the Holy Spirit,
with the faithful and the saintly in heaven,
with the redeemed of all ages,
with our beloved who dwell in thy presence and peace,
we, who still serve and suffer on earth,
unite in ascribing
Thanksgiving, Glory, Honor, and Power unto Thee,
O Lord our God, now and forever.