Prayers – The Green Tau

Prayers for Pentecost

23rd May 2026

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

Holy Spirit, you are the breath of life:

reinvigorate us with new growth.

Holy Spirit, you are the inspiration for knowledge:

refresh us with your wisdom.

Holy Spirit, you are the wind of change:

redirect us to the right path.

And let this be to the glory of the kingdom of God.

A reading from Isaiah 32:14 -17 (The Message)

The royal palace is deserted,
    the bustling city quiet as a morgue,
The emptied parks and playgrounds
    taken over by wild animals,
    delighted with their new home.

Yes, weep and grieve until the Spirit is poured
    down on us from above
And the badlands desert grows crops
    and the fertile fields become forests.
Justice will move into the badlands desert.
    Right will build a home in the fertile field.
And where there’s Right, there’ll be Peace
    and the progeny of Right: quiet lives and endless trust.
My people will live in a peaceful neighbourhood—
    in safe houses, in quiet gardens.
The forest of your pride will be clear-cut,
    the city showing off your power levelled.
But you will enjoy a fortunate life,
    planting well-watered fields and gardens,
    with your farm animals grazing freely.

.

Pentecost Spirit,

taking breath over creation,

drawing life out of chaos.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit,

riding on the storm clouds of anger,

turning the world upside down.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit,

dividing the waters,

cutting through the bonds of slavery.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit,

raising up whirl winds

yet drawing us into the still centre of calm.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit,

that comes from we know not where,

yet reveals to us all truth.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit,

a sudden gale that rocks the boat,

yet challenges us to hang onto our faith.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

Pentecost Spirit,

a gentle evening breeze,

that refreshes the soul when the day’s work is done.

Inspire us with a vision of the world as it could be.

Fill our hearts with active love.

The Grace.

After the king’s speech

16th May 2026

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our nourishment is to do God’s will;

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of the kingdom of God.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 23:22

A reading from Luke 1: 49-53

The Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

Her mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

She has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

She has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

She has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

A response based on verses from Psalm 68

Sing to God, sing praises to the one

who has ascended to Heaven.

Rejoice aloud!

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

To the orphaned, be as good parents.

To the widowed, be as loving siblings.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

For the homeless, provide a place of safety,

For the prisoner, a place of freedom.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

Where rain is scarce, ensure live-giving water,

Where the soil is depleted, refresh its wellbeing.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

For the poor, provide positions of value,

For the hungry, provide a place at the table .

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of the King:

For all who seek wisdom, make known the Gospel

For all who seek peace, make known the love of God.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Amen.

Love overcomes hate

9th May 2026

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Matthew 5:43-47 (The Message)

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. She gives her best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

Hate or love?

Hate smoulders and burns.

It reduces cheer to ash and clinker..

Love soothes the flaming rage,

And untangles twisted thoughts.

Hate rides roughshod over compassion.

It disregards the truth.

.

Love reads between the lines,

And hears the hidden words of hope..

Hate erects rigid boundaries.

It ring-fences every option.

Love sees beyond the corner,

And stretches out new horizons.

Hate casts an evil guise over every action.

It masks every sign of joy.

Love lifts the veil,

And finds the hidden virtue.

Hate feeds on anger.

Its rapacious appetite knows no limit.

Love expands with humility,

And grows with easy care.

Hate is all consuming –

Till nothing true remains.

Love is all consuming –

Till only truth remains.

Prayers

Holy God of love,

Heal the wounds where hate festers.

Renew our trust in one another.

Holy God of love,

Remove the log that blinds the eye.

Restore our vision of the world aright.

Holy God of love,

Open the ears that are stopped.

Retune our understanding of forgiveness.

Holy God of love,

Cut through warfare and vengeance –

In streets and cities in the UK.

In Palestine and in Isreal.

In Lebanon.

In Iran and in the USA.

In North Sudan.

In Ukraine and in Russia.

Cut through war and vengeance –

wherever it is found.

Replant the seeds of peace,

Water them with love,

with compassion,

sustain them with justice,

and feed them with vigorous determination.

The Lord’s Prayer

In praise of May

2nd May 2026

From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. Genesis 27:28

The month of May owes its name to the Greek goddess of fertility, Maia. For many May is the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Queen of May. It is certainly the month when spring growth is at its most abundant.

Glory be to God for the May tree –

the happy hawthorn:

Decked in white blossom,

she serves a feast for insects – alleluia!

Glory be to God for the mayfly –

ephemera vulgate:

Older even than dinosaurs,

they surrenders their underwater life

for one brief air born day of delight – Alleluia!

Glory be to God for the maybug –

the cockchafer:

Four years toiling as grub underground,

she emerges

a chestnut gilded member of the scarab family – alleluia!

Glory be to God for the may flower –

the cuckoo flower, Cardamine pratensis:

Pink flowers veined with purple, a dainty plant

that feeds the caterpillars of orange-tip

and green-veined white butterflies – Alleluia!

A reading: Genesis 1: 29-31

And look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I’ve given all the grass and plants to the animals and birds for their food.” Then God looked over all that he had made, and it was excellent in every way. This ended the sixth day.

God of all creation,

May we cherish what you have created,

respecting each plant and animal,

bird and insect,

as both unique and irreplaceable.

May we honour with reverence

what spreads out before our feet,

what flies in the air above,

slides through the water

or creeps in the soil below.

May we temper our lives

to make space for others,

ceding priority to the vulnerable

and encouraging the faint- hearted.

May we listen with our ears,

see with our eyes

and comprehend with wisdom

the harmony of your Kingdom here in earth.

Amen.

The Grace

Psalm 23 – a retelling

25th April 2026

Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth. Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire. Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:3-5)

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our meat is to do the Father’s will.

guide us in all we do.

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of God.

A reading from Micah 4:3-4

He shall judge between many peoples,
    and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
    and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
    and no one shall make them afraid;
    for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

A canticle based on Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;

Year by year, the earth produces fresh food,

enough to feed 10 billion people.

He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.

River waters flow through all the earth’s continents –

volumes of fresh water but unequally apportioned.

He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

Your word shows us where truth lies,

your wisdom guides us.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;

Rather amongst business leaders and politicians,

autocrats and diktats do I tremble.

but you are with me;
your rod and your staff— they comfort me.

As you comfort and protect us, so may we

comfort and protect all who live in fear.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;

May we be peace makers,

generously sharing the abundance we have.

you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

May we bring health and well being

to all our brother and sisters in creation.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,

May we all dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of our lives.

The Grace .

Prayers for Earth Day

22nd April 2026

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A Reading Psalm 8 (The Message )

God, brilliant Lord,
yours is a household name.

Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
    your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
    Why take a second look our way?

Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
    bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,
    even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
    whales singing in the ocean deeps.

God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.

Today is Earth Day – a globally recognised event calling on everyone to focus on the needs of the earth.

“This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods… together, we must Invest In Our Planet.” https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2022/

And as Paul writes, ‘As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,“In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.’ 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Glory to God,

Let the earth be glad, and the sea resound:

Let all that is in it rejoice.

We praise you!

Glory to God,

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

We praise you!

The law of the Lord is perfect,
making wise the simple.

Yet we have done our own thing and despoiled the environment.

Lord have mercy.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

Yet we have hidden your ways under the cloak of greed, making life dark for our fellow beings.

Now is the time!

Teach us once more to seek your wisdom for the earth.

Now is the time!

Teach us once more how to live in harmony with creation.

Now is the time!

Teach us to be mindful in what we use and generous in what we give.

Merciful God,

forgive us and heals us,

restore our world to its former glory.

Amen.

The Grace

If you love me (discourse)

11th April 2026

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading from John 14:15-17

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees her nor knows her. You know her, because she abides with you, and she will be in you.”

Response:

In the warm sun, the aroma of coffee, the embrace of a friend,

God is my comforter.

In the fresh air in my lungs, the soil beneath my feet, the push of the wind,

God is my strength.

From the contentment of the cat and the playfulness of the otter,

God is my guide.

In the midst of strangers, in the face of opposition and contempt,

God is my advocate.

In the blue of the sky, the green of the leaves, the love of neighbour,

God is my truth-teller.

In rise of the hills, the flow of the tide, the song of the bird,

God is my inspiration.

Holy God, I thank you that you are the ever-abiding presence

that brings new life.

May I in turn share that good news with all whom I meet.

Amen.

Holy Saturday

4th April 2026

He will swallow up death for ever.

Hallelujah

The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all their faces.

Hallelujah.

The disgrace of his people he will take away.

Hallelujah.

(Isaiah 25:8)

A reading from Matthew 27:57-61

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

Holy Saturday.

A day of waiting.

A day when the story pauses,

holds its breath,

readies itself and …

But below the surface,

hidden from view,

in another timeframe …

maybe ….

another chapter is unfolding.

Jesus does not rest.

He descended to the dead –

To break apart the prison bars.

To split open gates that are locked.

To smash the chains that bind.

To harrow the stony ground of hell.

Jesus will not rest

till the dead are raised

and the prisoners released,

till the oppressed go free

and hell is razed.

Hallelujah!

The Grace

Prayers for the ecosystems of North America

28th March 2026

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Ps 1:1a,3

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A Reading Proverbs 22:16-18

Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss. The words of the wise: Incline your ear and hear my words, and apply your mind to my teaching; for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you if all of them are ready on your lips.

Each week during Lent I am focusing on a different continent; this week North America

North America extends from the tiny Aleutian Islands in the northwest to the Isthmus of Panama in the south. The continent includes the enormous island of Greenland in the northeast and the small island countries and territories that dot the Caribbean Sea and western North Atlantic Ocean. In the far north, the continent stretches halfway around the world, from Greenland to the Aleutians. But at Panama’s narrowest part, the continent is just 50 km across. North America can be divided into five physical regions: the mountainous west, the Great Plains, the Canadian Shield, the varied eastern region, and the Caribbean. Mexico and Central America’s western coast are connected to the mountainous west, while its lowlands and coastal plains extend into the eastern region. Within these regions are all the major types of biomes in the world. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/north-america-physical-geography/

Glory to God

Creator of successions of mountains ranges:

We praise you for the awe and wonder of these regions,

their reminder that we are but humans.

We marvel at the power of water to carve out canyons

and the power of water to generate energy.

Glory to God

Creator of forests and plains:

We praise you for the richness of their biodiversity, for tall prairie grasses and even taller trees;

for the smallest grasshoppers to the mighty bison,

for the whistling marmots and black bears that huff and grunt.

Glory to God

Creator of rivers, lakes and wetlands:

We praise you for the Great Lakes and the fresh water they contain,

for the Mississippi River and the fertile soil it nurtures,

and for the wetlands of the Everglades, the 360 plus species of bird

and the plump grandeur of the manatees.

Glory to God,

Creator of tundra and ice:

We praise you for the ingenuity of life that adapts to the extremes of climate and geography.

We marvel at the diversity of life – lichens and moss, polar bears and caribou,

and the many migrating birds such as the Arctic tern.

Merciful God,

Creator of human kind,

Forgive our greed that has mined land and sea for fossil fuels, jeopardising our future.

Forgive our greed that industrialises farming, destroying soils and draining lakes.

Forgive our greed that turns animals into commodities and disregards their sentient nature.

Forgive our greed for consumer goods that strips the earth’s reserves.

Merciful God,

Creator of our brothers and sisters:

Forgive the casualness with which we let the rich grow richer

and the poor poorer.

Forgive the casualness with which we let the rich break the laws

and yet still penalise the poor.

Forgive the carelessness with which we discard what we buy

ignoring the meagre pay of those who labour.

Guiding God,

Source of all wisdom,

Transform our hearts and minds, turn the direction of our hands and feet

so that with alacrity and commitment we will reform our lives

and live only in harmony with your creation.

Amen.

The Grace

Prayers for the ecosystems of Asia

21st March 2026

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. Ps 1:1a,3

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A Reading – Psalm 95: 1-5

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

Each week during Lent these prayers focus on a different continent; this week Asia.

Asia (the eastern half of the Eurasian supercontinent) is the largest of the world’s continents, covering approximately 30 percent of the Earth’s land area. It is also the world’s most populous continent, with roughly 60 percent of the total population. It comprises five major physical regions: mountain systems; plateaus; plains, steppes, and deserts; freshwater environments; and saltwater environments. The Himalayas are so vast that they are composed of three different mountain belts. The northernmost belt, known as the Great Himalayas, has the highest average elevation and includes Mount Everest, which stands at 8,849m. The glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau contain the largest volume of ice outside the poles and feed Asia’s largest rivers. Approximately 2 billion people depend on the rivers. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, containing 20 percent of the world’s unfrozen freshwater. It is also the world’s oldest lake, at 25 million years old. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/asia/

Glory to God

Creator of mountains and glaciers:

We praise you for the awe and wonder of these regions,

their reminder that we are but humans.

We thank you for the life giving water they provide for peoples far below.

Glory to God

Creator of rivers and wetlands:

We praise you for the Tigris and the Euphrates,

for the Fertile Crescent and the roots of human civilisation.

We praise you for the Ganges and Brahamaputra rivers,

and for the biodiversity of the Sundarban wetland with its huge mangrove forest.

Glory to God,

Creator of Steppes and deserts:

We praise you the ingenuity of animals and peoples, adapting to the extremes of climate.

We praise you for yaks and bactrian camels and for livelihoods sustained by trade.

Glory to God,

Creator of flora and fauna:

We praise you for rich diversity of flora, for the many fruit trees – oranges and peaches –

and the beautiful flowers of China – roses and camellias, peonies and hibiscus.

We praise you for the wildlife of the Sundarban wetlands – birds and monkeys, monitor lizards and Bengal tigers.

Merciful God,

Creator of human kind,

Forgive our greed that destroys ancient forests in favour of logging for timber and wood pulp.

Forgive our greed that destroys biodiverse rain forests in favour of oil palm plantations.

Merciful God,

Creator of our brothers and sisters:

Forgive the casualness with which we ignore their plight when faced with war and oppression,

their poverty when corporate greed takes away their livelihoods

and their hunger when climate change decimates their crops.

Merciful God,

Creator of climates and seasons,

Forgive our foolishness that creates both drought and flood.

Forgive our foolishness that destroys mangroves that protect shorelines

and the forests that stabilise soils and lock in carbon

Guiding God,

Source of all wisdom,

Transform our hearts and minds, turn the direction of our hands and feet

so that with alacrity and commitment we will reform our lives

and live only in harmony with your creation.

Amen.

The Grace