PRAYERS FOR MAY 19TH

PENTECOST SUNDAY

Call to Worship

The Day of Pentecost is here:
the day when the flames of faith dance in our hearts.
The Day of Pentecost is here:
the day when our babbling speech becomes the Good News for the world.
The Day of Pentecost is here:
the day when compassion is seared into our souls.
The Day of Pentecost is here:
let the people of God rejoice.

Alleluia!

Prayers of Thanksgiving, Confession and Petition

Lord God, thank you for this day of Pentecost
when we celebrate the coming of your promised Holy Spirit.
We give thanks that in eons past you poured out your Spirit on the earth,

fashioning men and women in your image
to enjoy the wonders of nature you had created;
that you kept rescuing us from ourselves despite our foolish ways
and our lack of understanding of what it means to be your children.

Lord, we give you thanks that you have kept your promises throughout the ages,

even when you despaired of our ever grasping the importance of placing you first in our lives and that you took steps to show us the futility of our actions.

At Easter, through your Son, Jesus the Christ, you were glorified;
At Pentecost, through your Holy Spirit, you set the early church on fire
and led the disciples into the world to preach your Word.
May all praise and worship be yours!

On this Pentecost Sunday, we confess to You, O Lord,                                                  our division, for we are not gathered together as Your people in one place;

our fear of the rush of your Spirit in our lives                                                              and what it might call us to do or to be;                                                                    our desire for a monolingual society, even when you allowed the early church to transcend all language, not favouring one over another;                                              our actions that can be like the crowds that taunt and torment,                                    mocking those who are filled with your Spirit                                                              that burns like fire and rushes like wind.

On this Pentecost Sunday, O Lord help us to let down our barriers to your Spirit;          guide us to live with joy, abandon, and faithfulness;                                                 

and create in us new hearts to be new people who worship only You.                         

Spirit of the Living God, dance with us on this day.
Come, Whirlwind of Wonder!
Sing to the groaning of creation.
Come, still small voice of Hope!
Enflame us with your passion for justice.
Come, Liberator of the Least!
Purify us of our grasping greediness.
Come, Advocate of selfless living!
Silence our gossiping tongues.
Come, Harmony of God's Heart!
Wind of God, blow through us;

Fire of God, burn within us;
Tongue of God, speak to us on this day of renewal and birth.

These our prayers we offer in Jesus name,

Amen.                                            

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Loving God,                                                                                                            We ask for the gift of your Holy Spirit                                                                        to help us pray as we ought.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

We ask for the energy and vision of your Spirit                                                          for those who are tiring in the battle against injustice and oppression:                          for those exhausted by the struggle with poverty and hunger.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

We ask for the hope and comfort of your Spirit                                                        for those whose lives are overshadowed by illness or pain;                                          for those whose lives are darkened by sorrow or bereavement.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

We ask for the peace and joy of your Spirit                                                                for those living in the shadow of war and violence;                                                      for those eaten up by guilt and anxiety                                                                      and whose Christian life has become hard and dry.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

We ask for the guidance and strength of your Spirit                                                    for those uncertain how to use their time, talents and gifts;                                        for those tempted to do what is wrong.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

We ask for the love and courage of your Spirit                                                            for those reaching out to comfort the distressed;                                                        for those reaching out to others with the Good News of Christ.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

Loving God,                                                                                                            We ask for the assurance of your Spirit                                                                      to know your presence with us in our daily lives:                                                      in our relationships;                                                                                             

in our work and service;                                                                                          in our worship;                                                                                                        in our times of joy and pain.

Holy Spirit: Help Us.

In Jesus’ name:

Amen.

The Dismissal

In your moments of chaos                                                                                        God is with you.                                                                                                      In your moments of call                                                                                            God is with you.                                                                                                      In your moments of life.                                                                                          God is with you. Alleluia!                                                                                          Go as a Pentecost people,                                                                                      touched by fire,                                                                                                        stirred by wind,                                                                                                        to mend the world.                                                                                                  Alleluia!

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR MAY 26TH

TRINITY SUNDAY

Call to Worship

Let us worship the One

who spoke in the beginning

and created something out of nothing.

Let us worship the One

who took on the clothing of humanity

to set those who were oppressed free.

Let us worship the One

whose Spirit rests continually upon us,

calling us from sorrow-filled endings

to bright new beginnings.

Prayers of Approach, Thanksgiving and Confession

O Holy God,
like Isaiah the prophet, we stand in awe of Your glory,
feeling tremendously small and polluted by our sin,
and the sin of others.
Even so, as You touch us with Your burning presence,
we rejoice that we are made clean and whole.

O God, our Creator, continue to build this household of faith                                        into what You want us to be.
O Christ, our Saviour lead us to do as You will.
O Spirit, our power, strengthen us for the work of Your Kingdom.

O Blessed Trinity, fill this place and these people with Your presence.
Lead us into the world You love, so like us it will be filled with Your glory.

Almighty and everlasting God, we give You thanks that You revealed yourself                as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
and that You live and reign in the perfect unity of Love.
Lord, we worship You in the splendour of Your holiness.

You give strength to Your people and You bless them with peace.
We are ever mindful of the gifts You have given us and pray that we may use them to advance Your Kingdom.
We thank You for the knowledge that we may always come to You in prayer,
as we seek to do Your will, and that we are never alone.

Living and loving God,
We acknowledge that in our experiences of death,                                                      it is so easy for us to lose sight of You.
We know much about earthly things, but so little about heavenly things.

We stand in Your presence, O God, and become all too aware of our sins                      and shortcomings.
In confessing them, we thank You for the remarkable provision You've made to touch our lips and cleanse our hearts.
We are sorry for settling for a temple filled with Your glory,
when it is Your desire to fill the world with it.
Help us not to limit or restrict the reach of Your all-embracing love.
As we ask for Your help, we hear the cry of heaven for our help.
In response, we gladly say, ‘Here am I, send me!'
May more and more people see that God so loved the world                                        that He gave His one and only son.
And in so doing, He didn't come to condemn, but to save.

We ask all of these prayers in the name of the Son,
that we might know the love of the Father, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Heavenly father, we come before You now with our prayers for our world.
Creator God, look around the beautiful and bountiful world that You have created,
giving thanks for the good gifts that You have given us.
Remind each of us of the role we have in caring for Your creation
and change the hearts of those who seek to destroy the beauty of the earth

for their own gain.

Encourage those who seek climate justice and those who work                                    to restore our land, rivers and seas.
Creator God, help us work together to heal Your earth.

God of the sick, we think of all of those who are struggling                                          with poor physical or mental health.
Draw alongside them that they may know Your healing love.
We pray for all of those who work in healthcare.
Grant them strength and wisdom for every challenge they face.
Be with those who walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Walk with them, comfort them and bring them Your peace.

God of peace, we look around our world and see war and destruction.
Bring peace to every situation that knows the torment                                                and uncertainty that war brings.
Protect those who are fleeing from violence and conflict;
grant them safe passage and help them to find welcome and acceptance     

wherever they find a home.

Eternal God, we pray for our churches locally, nationally and around the world.
Let them be a light in the darkness                                                                            and beacons of hope in situations that seem hopeless.
As we give thanks for those who have nurtured us,                                                    help us to sow seeds of faith in others.
Help us to reach out to those in our communities                                                        who have yet to know you for themselves.

Living God, You know our every thought.
We bring before You now the situations that are known to us                                      and the people that we love most.

Be with us as we journey together, through highs and lows.
Grant us wisdom to speak into the situations that need to hear our voice
and be with us in the silence when words fail us.

We pray for all of these things in Your holy name.                                                      Amen

The Dismissal

Keep looking away from the world to Jesus,                                                              who alone is your redeemer and provider.

Keep looking to the world                                                                                        that it may be transformed by Your presence through us.

Keep looking to your own hearts,                                                                              so that you will say daily, ‘Here am I, send me!'

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR JUNE 2ND

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

We come to worship, we come to hear:                                                                      speak, Lord, your servants are listening.                                                                    Despite the siren voices around us, we are here:                                                        speak, Lord, your servants are listening.                                                                    In the Babel noise of our world, we come to hear You, O God:                                      speak, Lord, your servants are listening.

Prayers of Approach, Thanksgiving and  Confession

We know, O God, that you search and know us,                                                          that no one, not even ourselves, knows us as well as you do;                                      you discern our thoughts even when we are far away from you,                                  you journey with us in our coming and going, our resting and our sleeping.                You knit us together in the womb, and we praise you                                             

for your fearful and wonderful creation; a creation that includes even us!  

We give thanks that we belong, body and soul, to you,                                                the  One who gives us breath, who is our comfort in life and death,                              and has redeemed us from the powers and principalities of this world                          and frees us from the evil that seeks to drag us down.  

We give thanks that we belong, body and soul, to you,

the One who gives us breath and so we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ,        taking comfort that we belong to Him,                                                                      yearning for the resurrection that is to come, when we will be made whole.  

We give thanks that we belong, body and soul, to you,

the One who gives us breath who calls us to follow in the everyday things of life,          to perceive what eyes don’t fully see,                                                                        to listen to what our ears don’t normally hear,                                                            to dream what the human heart struggles to imagine - the world that is to come,

when all will be free and creation will be made whole.          

Yet we know, O God, that we try to flee from your Spirit,                                            to block our ears when you speak.                                                                            We prefer the noise of our world to the calm of your Breath.                                        We try to take the wings of the morning                                                                    and settle at the farthest reaches of the sea.                                                              We try to flee from you by making our bed in Hell,                                                      and yet you are there, waiting for us to turn back to you.     

Forgive us, O Holy One, when we turn from you,                                                        remind us of your loving kindness, and assure us, always,                                          of the power of your love, found in weakness,                                                          defying even death, restoring us to wholeness.                                                          Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

We bring our prayers for the world, the Church and those we love to Most High,

who hears us even as we long to hear God.

Eternal One, we bring to you places of pain in our world,                                            where your voice is drowned out by hate;                                                                where guns and missiles, tanks and soldiers, drones and bombs                                  banish the cool whisper of your calm.   

Speak your peace, O God, in Gaza, in Israel, in Ukraine and Russia.                           

We hear the hatred too, Most High, away from the battle field;                                  in our political life here and around the world rhetoric is weaponised,                          diversity denied, and narrow identities trump the richness of our culture.                            

Speak your peace, O God, to our political leaders and candidates,                            that public service will again be honourable. (Silence)

Risen Lord Jesus, we bring you the Church terrible as a mighty army with banners,

yet suffering with neglect, bemused by cultural change,                                              and living with self-imposed wounds.                                                                                                    

We pray for those who have been hurt by the Church,                                              those abused by clergy and Christian institutions,                                                      and those denied a place at the table for how they love.

We pray for those who lead the Church,                                                                  charged with hearing and responding to your voice

in a time and culture they don’t fully understand,

that through the noise they hear your voice,                                         

and follow where you call. (Silence)

Most Holy Spirit, we pray for our culture,                                                                  giving thanks for the rich diversity of our world,                                                          and for your work in stirring consciences to action.                                                      Help us listen for where you are at work – and then join in!

We pray too, O Comforter, for those we know and love                                                who are in any kind of need. (Silence)

We offer these prayers, O Most High,

in the name of Jesus,                                                       

Amen.

The Dismissal

May the One who calls you in the night and the day,                                                    the One who encourages you to do courageous things,                                                and the One who inspires you through the everyday things of life,                                call, encourage and inspire you, that you may follow.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR JUNE 9TH

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

Come sons and daughters,

mothers and fathers,

sisters and brothers and aunts!

Come grandmas and grandads,

uncles and nephews,

nieces and neighbours and friends!

Christ calls us together as parts of one Body,

for worship and service and praise!

Let us worship God together!

Prayers of Approach, Thanksgiving and Confession

Heavenly Father, you call us like a good parent to you to guide and protect us,            to nourish and lead us.

Brother Jesus, you call us like a caring elder brother to serve us and help us,                to cheer us and invite us.

Healing Spirit, you call us and move us ever closer into fellowship with you                  and each other.

Faithful God,

we come into Your presence with thanksgiving,

deeply grateful for the unfailing love and faithfulness

You have shown toward us, Your people.

When we call out to You, You answer.

When we are exhausted, You give us the strength to go on.

When we find ourselves in trouble,

You are there, standing beside us.

And so we come before You gratitude and praise,

offering You the worship of our hearts and lives.

Open our eyes to see and know You here among us;

open our ears to recognize Your voice.

Like unruly children we strain at your guidance, we try to break away and do it ourselves. We feel our strength and imagine to be all powerful.                                    We rejoice in our life and imagine ourselves to be immortal.                                      We know our talents and want to be independent rather than depend on you.

Before we know it, we are in the grip of other powers, leading us away from your loving ways into the slavery of selfish greed, adoring false gods of youthfulness, materialism and power.

Lord, forgive us and free us.                                                                                    Open our eyes how your wisdom knows true leadership to be service.                          Open our hearts that we may learn that neither race or tribe, culture or religion are barriers to separate us but that we are all one family in your love.                              So open our hearts and minds to learn again to live your love                                      as we celebrate and worship you here together.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Heavenly Father, you call us to be your friends and to make friends of others,

to recognize in them our brothers and sisters, your family in Christ.                        

So we pray for ourselves and for the world and its people:

We pray for all areas in the world where deep divisions run between ethnic groups because of race, religion or past history.                                                                                                   

Lord, help your people to be your friends and to make friends,                                    your family in Christ.

We pray for our communities where different traditions                                            shape different outlooks on things.                                     

Lord, help your people to listen well to each other                                                      that we may learn to live together                                                                            knowing that though different we are your family in Christ.

We pray for our own families, where growing up is difficult,

where harsh words spoken in anger are not easily taken back,                                    and hurtful or thoughtless actions are endangering relationships.                                                                                                                               Lord, empower your children to be patient, slow to anger                                            and to become wise in their speaking and acting as your family in Christ.

Amen.

The Dismissal

Brothers and sisters of Christ, go into all the world!
Go forth with forgiveness and grace.
Go forth with compassion and love.
Go as Christ’s family
for all the world to see.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR JUNE 16TH

FATHERS DAY

Father’s Day Call to Worship  (based on Psalm 103)

Come, bless the Lord with me!

For the Lord is like a father to his children

compassionate and merciful,

filled with endless love.

He forgives our sins,

and heals the sickness inside us;

he surrounds us with love and mercy

and fills our lives with good things!

Let us worship God together!

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Loving God, we come on this Father’s Day,

reminded that you are the Father of us all.

You have been with us from our birth,

guiding, nurturing and sustaining us.

Father God, we praise you.

You have taught us and brought us to maturity,

always concerned for our welfare,

constantly seeking the best for us.

Father God, we praise you.

Whenever we have needed you, you have been there,

willing to listen and advise,

yet giving us the freedom to make our own choices

and find our own way.

Father God, we praise you.

You have called us to be your family,

a people united through your son, Jesus Christ,

and through him you have revealed your love,

a love that reaches out to us day by day

despite our failure to love you in return.

Father God, we praise you.

Teach us to live as your children –

to hear your voice,

obey your instruction,

and respond to your goodness.

Father God, we praise you.

Teach us to bear your name with pride,

to share with others,

through word and deed,

the joy you have given us.

Father God, we praise you.

And finally, receive our thanks,

for the fathers you have given us,

all they have meant to us,

all they have given,

and all they have done in so many ways.

Father God, we praise you.

O God, Father that you are,

you know what is right for us,

but too often we only want our way or no way,

instead of your way.

Have mercy upon us when we turn from you.

Forgive us when we do not realize

your fatherly love and direction for us.

Have mercy upon us indeed,

and teach us anew how to follow you,

Father that you are.

We pray this through your Son,

our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,                                                                            Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Gracious God,

You know the joy of fatherhood and also the pain,

for you witnessed the life and death of your Son,

and you see each day the triumphs and tragedies of us,

your children.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love.

In Jesus you experienced the delight of being a father –

as you watched him grow and mature into adulthood,

as you saw him baptised in the Jordan,

as day by day he responded to your guidance,

faithful to the very last –

a beloved son with whom you were well pleased.

Yet you also experienced agony –

in the horror of the Cross,

the pain, the humiliation,

and the sorrow he endured for our sakes.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love.

In each of us you find pleasure –

when we pursue what is good,

when we honour your commandments,

when we seek your will and respond to your guidance.

But we cause you also so much pain –

 through our weakness,

 our repeated disobedience,

 our deafness to your call and our rejection of our love.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love.

Gracious God,

you know the joy and the pain of fatherhood,

and so now we pray for fathers everywhere.

Help them to appreciate both the privilege

and the responsibility they bear,

and teach them to give freely of themselves

so that they may discover the happiness,

 the fulfilment and the inexpressible rewards that fatherhood brings.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love.

Give them wisdom, patience and dedication,

and grant them strength to persevere

when children bring tears as well as laughter,

anxiety as well as hope, pain as well as pleasure.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love.

Reach out, we pray, to all fathers in such circumstances –

those who question their ability to cope, or fear they have failed;

those striving to offer support, or feel they have nothing left to give.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love.

And finally, hear our prayer for children

who on this Father’s day feel pain instead of joy –

those whose fathers have died, those orphaned as children,

those who have been mistreated, rejected, abused,

and those from broken homes who barely see or know their fathers.

Lord God our Father, reach out in love,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.                                                                              Amen.

Benediction for Father’s Day (based on Psalm 103)

As you go from here, remember this:                                                                    God’s love is from everlasting to everlasting,

from generation to generation.                                                                                  Just as a father has compassion on his children

so God has compassion on those fear him,                                                            who listen to his voice, and who do his will.                                                          Go out in the knowledge that the everlasting love of God goes with you.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR JUNE 23RD

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Opening Prayer

Mighty God, who speaks a word of peace to calm our troubled sea;
Caring God, who nudges us away from fear and toward faith;                                      Ever-present God, who fills us with awe
but also raises many questions
without easy answers;

Open our eyes to see you in our boat—today,
Strengthen our hearts for the challenges that lie ahead,
Open our ears this hour to hear the word you would speak.

This we pray, In Jesus’ name.                                                                                    Amen

Prayers of Approach and Confession

Lord God of all Creation, we thank you that we come to you                                        from our storm-tossed lives to seek your peace;                                                        we thank you that we can come to you with our questions and uncertainties,              our worries and anxieties, we thank you that we can come to you with joy and our happiness, each emotion a kaleidoscope of our feeling in life’s changing patterns.

More than all of that, we thank you that we can come to you because of what you have done for us in the love of Christ, who bought our freedom by his sacrifice on the Cross and showed us new life in his resurrection life.                                                           

We bless you for the love which has no dimension of length breadth or height, coming as it does from the perfection your being. We come to you knowing that sometimes we have received your grace in vain.

We have not relied on your word or wisdom;                                                              we have not shown any concern or compassion when we should have;

we have not loved our neighbour as we love ourselves.

We have remained silent when we should have spoken

and spoken when we should have been silent.

We seize the moment to ask you from our discordant lives 

for yet another chance of hearing you say to us ‘Your sins are forgiven.’

May the mark of that forgiveness be your grace in us

as we respond with grace and gratitude to your love.

Eternal God as we ask that you accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord,

we pray that from the grace we have received, what we say and what we do will enable those around us to glimpse the life of the your Son -- who calmed the storm with words which still echo down the centuries, ‘Peace be still’.                         

Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

In faith that the living God hears us when we call to him                                            and that he cares about the needs of his world                                                          let us pray for his help and strength now, on this day of salvation.

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ

facing the turbulence of persecution and oppression.                                                  We pray that they will find the hope and strength they need                                      to keep firm in their faith.

We pray for all people facing the turbulence of war and terrorism.                                We pray that the forces of angry violence may be restrained by the rebuke of those calling for a calm and peaceful resolution of differences.      

We pray for those facing the turbulence of fear, pain and illness.                                We pray that above the raging voice of suffering in all its forms                                  the calming voice of the one who heals may be heard and obeyed.

We pray for ourselves in the times when we face drowning                                          in the turbulence of doubt.                                                                                        We pray that our faith may grow in strength so that we can proclaim to others       

the power of Jesus to overcome the darkness of this world.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers offered to you today                                              out of the turbulence of this your fractured world.                                                    Renew our faith and grant us again a vision of the world as you meant it to be

when you laid its foundations at the dawn of time.               

Hear our prayers, offered to you in the name of your son,                                            our Saviour, Jesus Christ.                                                                                          Amen.

The Dismissal

Go now into a world beset by storms of worries and fears.
Go to the far side of despair,
bringing God's hope to all huddled on that shore.
Go now into all the places where people are afraid.
Set out from the shore of your comfortable lives,
bringing the good news of Jesus' grace to all.
Go now to the distant shores torn apart by violence and oppression.
Set out with the Spirit as your guide,
crying out to all,                                                                                                      "Peace! Be still!”

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR JUNE 30TH

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

Loving God,
we are yours.
We come as we are,
with our cares and concerns.
We long to touch you
and find healing in your embrace.
Strengthen our faith
and heal our brokenness,
that we may worship you with joy. 

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Loving God our creator,                                                                                            as the Psalmist called out to you in adoration, so do we.

For all the times you have lifted us up:

forming us in our mother’s womb,

filling our lives with signs of your love

surrounding us with grace,

we sing out in remembrance of your holiness.

Loving saviour, Jesus Christ,

for all the times you have lifted us up:

sharing our human nature,

teaching and healing all who came to you

surrounding us with grace,

we sing out in remembrance of your holiness.

Loving Holy Spirit,

for all the times you have lifted us up:

coming to us as helper and comforter,

strengthening all those who need you

surrounding us with grace,

we sing out in remembrance of your holiness.

Yet at times we have forgotten your grace and your love,

hear, O Lord, and have mercy on us.

Do not let our fear of failure fill our hearts

but help us to know that you are our helper who can clothe us with joy.

Assurance of Pardon

The Holy God comes near to each one of us;

God’s grace can turn weeping to dancing as we hear God’s words:

‘Child, your sins are forgiven – be made whole.’                                                          Thanks be to God.                                                                                                    Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

The Psalmist tells us: Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps 130v6)

All-holy God,

we thank you for the joy of your healing presence,

and we pray for those who most need to know your healing this day.

God who hears…bring healing, bring joy.

We pray for those who weep in frustration,

as our planet continues to be threatened

due to selfish exploitation by the human race.

God who hears…bring healing, bring joy.

We pray for those who weep in fear,

as warfare ravages lands and homes,

and peace seems impossible.

God who hears...bring healing, bring joy.

We pray for those who weep in pain,

as they wait for treatment or hope for a breakthrough.

God who hears...bring healing, bring joy.

We pray for those who weep in anger, as they fail to find meaningful work                or as relationships break down.                                                                                    God who hears...bring healing, bring joy.

We pray for those who weep in despair,

as they feel that no-one listens and no-one cares.

God who hears...bring healing, bring joy.

Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning.

We pray for those who bring healing, joy and hope to others.

Help us to find ways to serve the needs around us,

And bring us, at the last, to the eternal morning of your joy with all your saints in heaven, through our Saviour Jesus Christ.                                                                  Amen.

The Dismissal

Go, confident in the knowledge of God’s steadfast love for you,
assured of the healing touch of Jesus upon you                                                          and emboldened by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit within you.

The Grace

PRAYERS FOR JULY 7TH

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

When they said: Let us go to God's House,
Our hearts were filled with joy.

And here we are, in the place of God's dwelling:

Jerusalem, City of God, centre of worship.
All are invited here to worship, praise and give thanks
To the name of God.

Let us worship within these walls
and praise the God who calls us here.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Confession

Truly God, You are above reproach.
You have gifted us a world in which to live
that provides all that any of us need.
We can stand in awe at the beauty and bounty around us.

How can we ever match up to this?
How can we even begin to grasp
Your generosity?
Your grace?

For all that You have given us
we are truly grateful,
humbled even.
We bow before You in awe
and wonder.
Gracious, generous God,
accept our thanks and praise.

God of the past and of the future,
when we look back
may we look forward too.
When we dream of the past,
may those dreams still shape our future.
May our faith be rich enough
to see through, past golden eras,
knowing that You haven't finished
with us yet:
We shall still be a community,
we shall still find a new song to sing,
we shall still believe
You make all things new.

Forgive us for when we get things wrong,
relying on our own, and forgetting
to be guided and inspired by Your story.

Help us to look forward,
learning from the past
inspired by Jesus in the present
and guided by Your spirit into the future.

We are part of something quite extraordinary –
We are part of Your story:
past, present and future.

Accept our prayers,
in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

Amen

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Heavenly King,
we pray for our world,
which needs a servant king
to wash the feet of those
who have forgotten
what it is to be touched:
the lonely,
the forgotten,
the ridiculed.

Hear us.

We pray for our world,
which needs a unifier
to bring together those who are enemies
and those who have been forgotten:
the hungry,
the well-fed,
the rich,
the poor.
Hear us.

We pray for our world,
which needs to remember
whose we are
and what we have been called to do,
and whose we have been called to be:
peacemakers,
bread-breakers,
justice-bringers.
Hear us.

We pray for the world,
which needs leadership
to renew our covenant with You
and to refresh our memories
of how we got to be here:
the long path,
the falling in,
and the falling out,
the journey through our living.
Hear us.

Amen

The Dismissal

May the past
be the beginning of the future for you.
May the faith
be the beginning of eternity for you.
May the way
be all the steps that led you here.
And may love
be the guide that takes you further.

May the God
of the past, present, and future,
be the God of today
and tomorrow and yesterday,
and may we look back to this point in time
and know God has been here,
and leads us on.

The Grace

PRAYERS JULY 14TH

SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

Creator God for the wonder of your world, we praise you,

with hearts and hands and voices.

Compassionate Jesus for your unconditional love, we praise you,

with hearts and hands and voices.

Cajoling Spirit who unsettles and challenges us, we praise you,

with hearts and hands and voices.

With hearts overflowing with gratitude,

with hands active in care for others,

with voices raised in praise and worship

We meet together in your name.

Prayer of Approach and Confession

Loving and faithful God,

we come into your presence rejoicing.

To sing your praise,

to hear your words of acceptance

to share your all-inclusive love.

Be present with us in this time together as we come to worship you.

Knowing that we are called to walk the way of Jesus

we come just as we are and experience your welcome here.

Living Jesus, You show us that God is love:

You love with a love which reaches to all people;

with a love which keeps no record of wrong;

with a love that never ends.

Console us where we feel sad;

come close where we are lonely;

forgive us where we are feeling guilty;

reassure us where we are anxious.

Speak our names in the voice we recognise as the one who made us,

who knows us inside out;

and cares for us more than any other,

the one who has promised never to leave or let us go.

So that in this we may go from here comforted, pardoned,

strengthened and cheered, better able to serve you in your world

and to live in the fullness of life that you give us and all people everywhere.               Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

We pray for all who speak out fearlessly

for truth and justice, knowing that they may pay a heavy price.

Be with them, Lord, as inspiration and friend.

We pray for those who recognise what is just and true,

yet succumb to pressure

from those who would see goodness destroyed.

Be with them, Lord, as encourager and beacon of truth.

We pray for those who are overwhelmed

by a thirst for vengeance,

and seek a violent solution.

Be with them, Lord, as prick of conscience and victor of evil.

We pray for the friends and families

who grieve,

when the courageous voice of truth is silenced.

Be with them all, Lord, as fellow sufferer and eternal comforter.

We pray for our church communities

that we might shine with kindness and love,

acceptance and welcome,

for all who serve

and discern your future.

We pray for people of peace and good will

to resist and fight against all that divides us,

to see goodness and love

and much to applaud in your world.

We pray for our homes and neighbourhoods,

our workplaces and streets,

remembering especially those who are struggling,

experience difficulties and go unnoticed.

We pray for our world,

for places of conflict,

for those leading cruel and unjust regimes,

for all who work for peace and fairness.

These prayers we offer in the name                                                                      and in the spirit of Jesus,   

Amen.

The Dismissal

Go into God’s world to resist injustice.

Go into God’s world to speak of peace.

Go into God’s world to walk gently.

Go into God’s world to discover Jesus all around us,

in the life you live and the love you share.

The Grace

PRAYERS JULY 21ST

EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Call to Worship

If you arrive here hungry for more of that divine bread which feeds your soul,

then I welcome you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I, your minister, may sometimes disappoint you, but he will not.

His grace is sufficient for all your needs.

Jesus says: “I am the bread of life.

Those who come to me shall not hunger,

and those who believe in me shall never thirst.”

Prayers of Approach, Thanksgiving and Confession

O Bread of heaven,
come down.
Come down and fill us with your Spirit,
for your Spirit satisfies like no other.
We hunger and thirst for you this morning
and long to be nurtured
in your love and forgiveness.
So we come to this sacred time and place,
where our hungers are finally and fully satisfied
as only your bread can do.

God of our hopes and dreams,
we give you thanks that when we are empty you long for us to be filled;
when we are hungry, you long for us to be fed;
when we are lost, you long for us to be found.
We thank you that you gather us into your love,
and pick up the pieces of our lives,
just as Jesus gathered up the fragments
of the five loaves and two fish
that remained after feeding the five thousand.
Call us anew to eat our fill
and to find our true nourishment in Jesus,
the bread of heaven.

God, you loved this world so much

that you sent your own son, Jesus Christ

to live and die among us,

in order that we might have life.

Forgive us for keeping that abundant life to ourselves,

for jealously hoarding your generous gifts,

for choosing self-interest over compassion and justice,                                for clutching the bread of life in our own hands                                           

while others hunger for your filling

Teach us what it means to live as children of the light,

generously sharing your abundance

with our brothers and sisters in need. 

These prayers we offer in Jesus` name,

Amen.

The Lord`s Prayer

Prayers of Intercession

Loving God,

You are our Creator and Sustainer.

When You open Your hand,

You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

And so we look to You whenever we are in need,
trusting in Your love and Your abundant goodness.

As You once fed the hungry crowds with five loaves and two small fish,

we ask that You would again fill those who are empty this day.

Pour out Your Spirit on all who hunger and thirst.

We pray for those who are physically hungry—whose stomachs are empty.

We think especially of those who are facing critical food shortages;

who are suffering the effects of malnutrition and starvation;

and watching helplessly as loved ones die.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.

Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled. 

We pray for those who are empty emotionally—

who are lonely and long for companionship and love,                                  who are caught in the grip of depression, or overwhelmed with grief.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.

Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled. 

We pray for those who are spiritually empty—

who are troubled, but don’t know where to turn;

who long for purpose and meaning, but don’t know where to look;
who need You, but do not yet know You.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.

Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled. 

God, we praise You for Your abundant gifts in our lives.

Pour out Your Spirit on us as well.

Fill us with Your compassion and love,

so that we would willingly share some of our abundance

with those who have need.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.

Pour out Your Spirit, so that we may be filled.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ,

who came so that all of humanity might come to know

the abundant life that comes from You.

Amen.

The Dismissal

If you have found some of the good bread of Christ here this day,

then do not hesitate to share it with others.

For this is the bread that increases the more it is given away,

and nourishes us best in the presence of goodwill and laughter.

May the love of God

which gives life to the world, sustain you;
May the bread of life, Jesus Christ,

feed you with the food that endures to eternal life;
May the power of the Holy Spirit

nourish and strengthen you in faith.

The Grace

Minister ~ Rev Alan Kennedy 07733153203 01612703296 alanrk1690@gmail.com