Sunday Prayers 29/8

Prayers of Adoration

I could hear the birds today. A child’s laughter in the distance. Could you hear it? Could you see it?

I heard the sound of the tide coming in and going out.
I follow its sound and it leads me to still, clear, open waters.
The news reports fade away. And they sink into this deep deep ocean.
And in this moment, this very moment, I am found in the stillness.
Connected deeply with the glory of God most high. Mother of all creation.
You breathe life into me. You breathe life upon these waters.
And as I stand or sit or lie in this still glory, the presence of God fills me from within.

Breath of God. Make yourself known to us.
Breathe life into as you breathe life on these waters.
Breathe life into us afresh as we sit, listening with our eyes and our ears and our heart open.
We sit here, connected to our breath. It comes in, it goes out. Just like the waves.
Lord we acknowledge your presence that runs deep in our being, your spirit breathed within us,
Your Spirit breathed upon us, the very essence of our being.
We acknowledge your presence. In this room, in this zoom. You are here.

You are here in the in-between. You are here in the pain.
You are here in the glory, you are here in the stains.
And God, we adore you. We need you. Help us to realise your closeness despite our fear.
For your love conquers all fears. It is in and through Love that we realise the fullness of you.

You being here in your midst. Thank you that you’ve never left us.
Thank you that you won’t forsake us. Loving God, Mother God. Hold us close.
Show us compassion like a child of your womb.

Reveal to us your purpose in this time.
Even if all that means for us, is the breathe.
We breathe you in. We breathe you out.

Thank you.

Hannah Friebel, first offered for worship 6/9/2020, offered for worship 29/08/2021, Pentecost 14B

Prayers of Confession

Loving God we confess our weariness and our sadness

Holy sacred Spirit, breathe your breath on us.
Holy sacred Spirit, breathe your life in us.

Risen Christ we confess our anger and our rage

Holy sacred Spirit, breathe your breath on us.
Holy sacred Spirit, breathe your life in us.

Breath of Life we confess our helplessness and our despair

Holy sacred Spirit, breathe your breath on us.
Holy sacred Spirit, breathe your life in us.

Amen

In this stillness, in this space, in this breath
we can be confident that in Jesus’ precious name
Our sin is forgiven
Thanks be to God. Amen.

Saide Cameron, offered for worship 29/08/2021, Pentecost 14B

SONG: Holy Sacred Spirit, by Monica Brown, © 1991 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions. Used by permission. From More Voices, United Church of Canada, Woodlake Publishing Inc. Reproduced with permission under ONE LICENCE # 604502

Prayers of the people

Watch or 41:38

Let us pray.

First let us hear the words of the poet, Mary Oliver:
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields

So, dear God, we bring our attention to you. In our minds and imagination, we kneel in the grass, stroll through the fields, and are idle and blessed.

Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom.

We are in a world which seems almost crazy at the moment, full of dangers, uncertainty, and inequality. We remind ourselves that you are the God of justice, the Prince of Peace, the Good Shepherd. Shepherd us towards your kingdom we pray. Loving God, we look to you to act in our present history, to speak to consciences, to turn hatred to forgiveness, to sow seeds of reconciliation. Help us, in turn, to pay attention to your Spirit working in the world and in the lives of all living beings and in all of creation. You are here with us.

We particularly pray for Afghanistan, that voices of moderates would be heard and followed. We pray that all parties would turn from retribution and blame and seek peace for this country and its people. May our government be guided by compassion and genuine concern for the future of all Afghanis, including those who stay and those who need to leave. May our leaders pay attention to the prophets in our society who speak out for justice and peace.

Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom.

For some of us, we feel that our current idleness is not blessed. 200 days and counting of lockdown is wearing us all down and we often feel constrained, fragile, concerned about the future and worried about our families and communities in these days. Help us we pray that we may all have the resources, strength and grace to cope. We bring to you those whose health and well-being is particularly at risk. We pray for those with limited access to support, to jobs or education. We also pray for those places around the world that are doing it so much tougher, where poverty, limited health services and rich countries’ indifference exacerbate the impact of the pandemic. May we all pay attention to this shared, global struggle that we might learn how to live in a global community of shared hope and resources.

Loving God, you offer us the opportunity to pay attention to all that is around us, to our inner lives, to our neighbours, and beyond. Help us to draw the circle wider, to find the strength to be open to beauty and to suffering. Help us to pay attention to what you would have us do, to listen again to your call on our lives. Help us to move forward in the strength of your Spirit.

AMEN.

Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom,
Peace salaam, shalom.

Tim Budge, offered for worship 29/08/2021, Pentecost 14B