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April 7, 1999 Barbara Patterson Parkinson’s List [Parkinson’s Disease World Awareness Day Prayer: O God You are the source of all goodness, life, light, and health and knowledge. We thank You for all that you have given us so lavishly – food, shelter, life, love. We thank You for those who have loved and cared for us – our fathers and mothers, our sisters and brothers, our relatives and friends – others lack all of these things. We come before You as Your children who are suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. The world is not always as aware of us as we would want. We thank You for those striving to make us more visible. We, too, are human persons with feelings and emotions. We are thankful for those who have passed laws that seek to make Parkinson’s Disease a national and indeed and international issue. We want the world to know that we exist. We are here. We are not shadows. We are not misfits. We are human beings with a certain affliction. We pray that there will be greater awareness of our plight. We pray that our governments will make adequate funds available for research to discover a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. We are on the verge of a breakthrough. We pray for those who compassionately look after us and those searching for a cure. Bless their efforts and crown them with wonderful success. Bless us all. Pour forth your Holy Spirit on us all abundantly now and always. Amen. Desmond M. Tutu Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa Nobel Peace Laureate] God bless you all. Yours sincerely, Desmond M. Tutu Archbishop Emeritus Robert W. Woodruff Visiting Professor of Theology DMT/jls