Prayers of Adoration & Confession

God who is the rock of our salvation,
We come into your presence with thanksgiving,
Making a joyful noise and singing songs of praise.

In the time of doubt and anxiety
You guided Moses to the rock of Horeb
Where he struck water and the people’s thirst was quenched.

We are your people
And we come and kneel before you in adoration
For you are God of all.

Forgive us when we do not listen to your voice
When we harden our hearts
When we test you and look for proof of your love and goodness.

Forgive us when we find our journey hard,
When we quarrel among ourselves,
Accusing each other and God in the midst of our troubles.

Forgive us when we do not look for you to lead us
When we will not go ahead to find the way you show us
When we doubt that you are among us.

Kyrie eleison, Kyrie, eleison, Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison

God shows us the way
And gives us water for the journey
Even when we doubt and grumble.
In Jesus we receive the water of life,
Again and again.

And so we can say with confidence:
Our sin is forgiven
Thanks be to God.

Kirsty Bennett, offered for worship 15/03/2020, Lent 3A

Prayers of the people

Our Father, and Mother in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.

Creator of our world down to the last atom. You have called us to come together to sing, pray, praise and worship you. To learn of you, to love and support each other and to be a witness of your love in a world full of need. May we live our lives as those filled with “living water”

Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We pray that the Church, Governments and people forget the barriers of, gender, race, sexuality and religious practices and join together to recognise your truth and follow where you lead.
We pray Peace for those who live with exploitation or in countries at war, and for welcome for those trying to escape and find new home.
Reconciling God, open our eyes to see you working in our world, in unexpected ways and through unexpected people.
Heaven on earth

Give us this day our daily bread

Creating God
We pray for those who work the land and produce our food and products. This life is becoming more difficult with Climate change, floods, fire, drought, and disasters, and they are feeding the world.
Lord be with Ian and all those who are working with people traumatised by the recent fires. Give them strength and resilience and help them to have hope for the future.

And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Life giving and forgiving God
Forgive us for our weakness, for our lack of faith, for our failure to see you in those around us. In the homeless, unemployed, old, sick, angry or exploited.
We pray for all our doctors, nurses, paramedics and students training for medicine. They face violence and illness themselves everyday as they work, and they are our defence in the face of this epidemic.
Help us to stop fighting over toilet paper and work together to support each other, to learn to forgive and work together for our common good.

Save us in the time of trial.

This is a time of trial.
We face both climate change and the threat of a pandemic. Help us not to loose sight of each other’s humanity in protecting our own little worlds.
Inspire us with new ways to live and help us to listen to each other and to be open to new ideas. Fill us and wash us in your “living water”

And deliver us from evil.

Open our eyes to see where evil exists in our world. May we be willing to stand against complacency and give us the courage to join  the fight. Whether it is Governments, corporations or single powerful voices who cause division and only wish for money in their pockets or power in their hands.

For the kingdom,( your kingdom come) the power(your will be done)
And the glory are yours
Now and forever
We pray this
In the name of Jesus,  “the living water”
Amen

Helen Burnham, offered for worship by Kirsty Bennett and Valentina Satvedi Leydon, 15/03/2020, Lent 3A