Call to Prayer: Friday 6 November 2020
Let us take a moment to come together and believe in the power of prayer. There is strength and solidarity in prayer that even though we cannot be together physically, we are supporting one another spiritually. Let us join together in our own way and tradition to pray.
Let us thank our God for the gift of life. many have gone but it has pleased the Lord, God Almighty to keep us alive.
Let us remember with thanksgiving those who made the supreme sacrifice for us in time of war, pray that the offering of their lives may not have been in vain.
Let us remember all those who make our common life secure, for the peace and freedom we enjoy, pray that God will inspire us to commit into building a better society for the generations to come.
Jesus has shown us how great the price of freedom is, by giving His life to deliver us all. Pray that we will dedicate ourselves anew to the cause of justice, freedom and peace; and give us the wisdom and strength to build a better world that will honour and glorify God.
Let us thank the Lord God for the community, for those who share with us in its activities, all who serve its varied interests. We remember our country, our community at this difficult time, pray that we will discover opportunities to make our own contribution to our community. Help us to learn to be good neighbours, that by love we may serve one another.
It seems that we return to you Lord most easily when we need comfort.
In the shadow of your wings we find respite and relief that feeds our innermost self and renews our soul. Day and night, you are our refuge.
These uncertain days of news conferences and quarantines tempt us to assume the worst for our loved ones, ourselves and our community.
“Pandemic” is a frightening word, and we can easily feel confused or helpless to respond.
Now we are relying on you to lead and guide us, to put our anxiety in its place.
Help us see it as a human response that keeps us conscious of the seriousness of this moment, but do not let it overwhelm our spirit.
Buoyed by your love, we choose each day to let peace reign in us. Breathing deeply of your calm, we repeat, again and again, “You are here.”
Good and gracious Companion, our family and friends need tranquillity and assurance.
Help us to offer them your tenderness.
Those in my community who are suffering need care.
Help us to be generous and to keep contact with the forgotten.
Our world calls for cooperation among national leaders, scientists, health care providers, and all who are instrumental in overcoming this crisis. May our prayers and support be with them all.
We have come back to you, and we will return, knowing that your open arms will never fail.
God of hope, may your love blanket the earth, as you teach us to live more generously today than yesterday. May our anxiety be transformed into love.
Amen
Gracious and loving God, we ask that you lift up these prayers and the prayers that we hold in our hearts. Calm our fears and anxiety and be with us through this trying time. Help us to understand the changes in our lives, to accept the things that we cannot control, and to be patient and loving to one another.
All this we ask through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Maranatha ! Life is fragile, handle it with prayers
Evening Prayer on Thursday 5 Nov, 6pm
As Christians we are called to pray at this time of crisis. Many Christians are praying daily at 6pm and we will pray together at 6pm on Thursdays. Do join us.
If you join us on Youtube or Facebook, use the chat feature to add your own prayer or requests for prayer.
Please be aware that this is a public chat so don’t give confidential details and if you pray for people please don’t mention their name or only their first name.
You may just want to write Amen as a sign that you are praying with us.
Click here to join us on Youtube…
Saying Grace
Sung Grace:
All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above. Then thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love.
Thank you Lord for giving us food, right where we are. Amen!
Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you, God for everything.
For health and strength and daily food, we praise your name, O God. (may be sung as a round)
Said Grace:
For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly thankful.
Bless us oh Lord for these thy gifts that we’re about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Lord, bless those that sit at this table, the food that is on it, and those who prepared it. Amen.
God we thank you for our food, for work and play and all that’s good, for wind and rain and sun above, but most of all for your great love.
Thou who has given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart. (George Herbert)
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and may our meal by you be blest.
Give thanks to the LORD,a for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 107.1)
Humorous Graces:
God, bless this bunch as they munch their lunch.
For well filled plate and brimming cup and freedom from the washing up, we thank you, Lord.
Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub.
Down head, up paws, thank God we’ve jaws.
Prayer: God can take our jumbled lives…
… and make something beautiful. Make sure you watch this video to the end!
Our Prayer Week is starting tomorrow!
Have you already signed up to pray for one hour (or more)? Click here to sign up…
Find out more about the many ways in which you can pray from tomorrow here…
A short testimony on the power of prayer by Bishop Michael Curry (who preached at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex):
Thy Kingdom Come!
Today is the beginning of Thy Kingdom Come 2020 – a global prayer initiative spanning many countries and denominations. This song is a heartfelt prayer, sung to a well-known tune.
A Postscript to VE Day: Bonhoeffer’s Creed
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed for his resistance to Hitler on 9 April 1945 in Flossenbürg Concentration Camp, only four weeks before VE Day. He wrote this creed days before his execution by the Gestapo:
I believe that God can and will generate good out of everything, even out of the worst evil. For that, he needs people who allow that everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.
I believe that God will give us in each state of emergency as much power of resistance as we need. But he will not give in advance, so that we do not rely on ourselves but on him alone. Through such faith all anxiety concerning the future should be overcome.
I believe that even our mistakes and failings are not in vain, and that it is not more difficult for God to cope with these as with our assumed good deeds.
I believe that God is not a timeless fate, but that he waits for and responds to honest prayers and responsible action. Amen.
(Flossenbürg Concentration Camp today: Walking into the light)