Prayers of Adoration & Confession

Creator God, from the very first day, you mothered creation
giving glorious life to all that has been and ever will be.
You breathe joy and wholeness into the beauty of creation
an explosion of astonishing overwhelming diversity.

You have honoured us with our own gifts of creativity.
You gave us the gift of stewardship of this planet, our home
and in the arrogance of our humanity we have been thoughtless.

We long to live in harmony with all creation, forgive us our despair.
Help us to continue finding better ways to honour and care
for this amazing, abundant, beautiful place we call home.             

Word of God, you are our beginning and our ending,
shaping our lives and our actions through your story.
You walked with your disciples and you walk with us now
speaking your truth into our hearts and our souls.

You call us to follow you, to lift up the lowly
and care for the broken hearted, lost and lonely ones.
But sometimes this call gets lost in the clamour of our living.

We long for a time when all people are safe, forgive us our despair.
Help us to continue finding more effective ways to advocate
for people who suffer and are less fortunate than we are.

Holy Spirit, you startle us into life, waking us to wonder
opening our hearts to the joy of eternal love.
You set our feet to dancing, our voices to singing,
our hands and minds to creating.

You breathe through us, welcoming all that we offer
revealing new thoughts, ideas and possibilities.
Even so we sometimes fall prey to weariness.

We long to share the joy of your love, forgive us our despair.
Help us to be beacons of light in the darkness of our world
living and loving as your people in all that we do and say.  Amen

On the great day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed
‘Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’.
Know then that in the name of Jesus our Saviour
we too are saved by this mysterious gift of grace.
And so I declare that our sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.  Amen

Saide Cameron, offered for worship, Pentecost Sunday, 20/5/18

Prayers of the People

Creator God we give you thanks for this world,
a treasure store of mystery and wonder
a home to people of many voices and many colours.
We pray for this world where injustice and war
shapes the lives of too many people.
We pray for the people of Gaza, North & South Korea
and all who live in places where peace is only a dream.
We give thanks for all who speak out against injustice
who seek to proclaim and work for peace
between all peoples and all nations.
We lift our voices in prayer to you Creator God.

Word of God, we give you thanks for the church,
a sometimes strange and mysterious creation
a place of many places, many voices, many peoples.
We pray for the church in all her shades of light and dark
for her leaders who shape our faith and teach your word.
We pray for people who have been hurt by the church
and struggle to find peace amidst their suffering.
We give thanks for all who gather in your name
giving voice to your story of hope and new life
reshaping the world with love one breath at a time.
We lift our voices in prayer to you Word of God.

Holy Spirit, we give you thanks for the gift of prayer,
for all the ways we pray for each other, with each other
holding the people of our communities with love.
We pray for people we know who are unwell in body or mind
for those who are lonely or grieving or fearful.
We pray for people in this city who have no safe place to call home
for asylum seekers who have no certainty in their future.
We give thanks for the many people and organizations
seeking to support people in need and in particular
for our Olive Way ministry and the Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre.
We lift our voices in prayer to you Holy Spirit, Breath of prayer.
Amen

Saide Cameron, offered for worship, Pentecost Sunday, 20/5/18