Category: Prayers

Lamenting our shortcomings

18th October 2025

The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9

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 10:1-6, 12

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
   let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
   those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
   all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’ 

Their ways prosper at all times;
   your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
   as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
   throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’ 

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
   do not forget the oppressed. 

Response based on Daniel 9:4-10

Great and awesome God, 

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love, 

we have sinned and done wrong: 

our greed has made paupers of those we should love, 

our desire for more has taken away even the little they had, 

we have despised and oppressed our brothers and sisters.

Great and awesome God, 

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

we have acted wickedly and rebelled: 

we have carved out our paths 

and ignore the ways of your creation 

leaving behind us a trail of devastation.

Great and awesome God, 

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

we have turned aside from your commandments:  

we over-grazed the land, over fished the seas, 

we have decimated the forests and polluted the waterways, 

we have taken more than we can restore.

Great and awesome God, 

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

we have not listened to your prophets, who speak in your name: 

we have ignored the wail of the sea birds, 

the gasps of the rhino

and the disappearing drone of the insects. 

Great and awesome God, 

keeper of promises

and steadfast in love,

shame falls on us:

we let islands drown and ice sheets melt, 

we let the tundra burn and rivers dry up,

we let cities flood and fields whither.

Lord our God, 

to you belong mercy and forgiveness,

reform and redeem us, 

renew a right spirit within us, 

that all your creation may be treated 

with love and care.

Amen.    

The Grace.

With wisdom tend the earth 

11th October 2025

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6: 28b,29 

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 Proverbs 3:13-15 

Happy are those who find wisdom,
    and those who get understanding,

for her income is better than silver,
    and her revenue better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Response: 

If with wisdom we tend the earth,

if with an understanding of creation 

we shape our daily lives, 

then daisies will be our silver.


If with wisdom we tend the earth,

if with an understanding of creation 

we choose to measure wealth,

then buttercups will be our gold.


If with wisdom we tend the earth, 

if with an understanding of creation

we value streams and rivers,

then raindrops will be our diamonds.


If with wisdom we tend the earth,

if with an understanding of creation,

we  protect trees and forests

then leaves will be our emeralds.


If with wisdom we tend the earth,

if with an understanding of creation

we cherish insects and pollinators,

then roses will be our rubies.


If with wisdom we tend the earth,

if with an understanding of creation,

we love our fellow creatures,

then fullness of life will be our everlasting treasure. 

(With thanks to Jan Struther’s for the hymn ‘Daises are our sliver’.)


Ever patient God,

forgive us when we focus on the the work of our hands 

and disregard yours.

Forgive us when we think we know all the answers 

and yet ignore yours. 

Forgive us when we value  human approbation 

more highly than yours.

Forgive us when we hoard monetary wealth 

and neglect the wealth that comes from serving you.

Forgive us when our desire for more takes away 

what we might rightly have shared with the rest of your creation.

In your loving mercy, 

hear us and pardon us. 

Amen.


Creator God, source of wisdom and understanding

inspire us to discover the true treasures of life on earth. 

Open our eyes to see the full glory of what you have created. 

Guide us not to be selfish,

neither keeping that wealth for ourselves 

nor squandering it.

Remind us to be grateful, giving thanks and praise 

for the treasure trove you have provided.

Grow in us a caring and responsive attitude 

for the well being of creation – 

its different plants and creatures, 

birds and insects, 

our brothers and sisters.

Amen.

For peace makers

4th October 2025 – feast of St Francis 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

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 Exodus 26: 19- 22, 26-31

Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek (quarrel) because they quarrelled with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah (enmity).  And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth (spaciousness), because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” 

Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ” 

So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Response:

To be a peacemaker is to strive, and strive and strive again.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is build and rebuild and build yet again.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to hope and persevere and hope again.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to master the stumbling blocks.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to de-escalate tension.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to overcome pride and jealousy, greed and enmity.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to build on common ground.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to listen. 

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to build upon friendship and generosity, empathy and humility.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to nourish what has been built.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker it to tend what has been built lest it crumble.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to create the  seed bed for new growth.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to share what is learnt.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to stand back so that others may step forwards.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

To be a peacemaker is to be a child of God.

Merciful God, grant us peace.

The Grace.

Holy is God’s name

27th September 2025

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of her hands. Psalm 19:1

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 from Genesis: 1:29-31

 : God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 

Prayers of praise –

Holy is your name and 

Holy is the sky above, 

shades of blue – 

azure, periwinkle, powder – 

with clouds billowing and piled high, 

little puffs and wispy streaks; 

glowing white or deepest dark greys, 

fair weather or storm bearers:

Holy is the sky!

Holy is your name and 

Holy is the earth below, 

shades of brown – 

umber, ochre, taupe – 

stones and grit, dust and hummus, 

teeming with life – 

worms and beetles, 

microfauna and fungi:

Holy is the earth!

Holy is your name and 

Holy are the waters far and wide, 

more shades of blue – 

aquamarine, cobalt, sea green – 

sparkling spring and dancing stream, 

majestic river and languid lake,

and voluminous ocean – 

each overflowing with the gift of life:

Holy are the waters! 

Holy is your name and

Holy are the weeds that toil and spin, 

shades of green – 

lime, moss, emerald – 

rooted in the earth, clinging onto rocks, 

colonising the desert, reaching for the sky, 

brimming with fruits in season,

breathing life into the air

Holy are the weeds!

Amen.

Prayers of sorrow- 

Heavenly Parent,

We have erred against you and your world.

We have polluted the air and the water, 

the seas and the soil. 

We ask for forgiveness and healing.

We have squandered the earth’s resources, 

and consumed more than our fair share.

We ask for forgiveness and healing.

We have decimated plants and animals, 

we have destroyed habitats and poisoned food chains.

We ask for forgiveness and healing.

We have abused our kin and ignored their humanity,

grinding them down into lives of misery.

We ask for forgiveness and healing.

From a place of sorrow, revive us.

From a place of penitence, quicken us. 

From a place of humility, rebuild us.

Amen.

The Grace

Prayers for peace

20th September 2025 – tomorrow is the UN day for world peace 

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You bless us with a world that is good 

and look to us to be peace makers and peace keepers:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters: 

May we live together in peace.

Reading Micah 4: 2- 5

  And many nations shall come and say:
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

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.

For all the peoples walk,
    each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
    for ever and ever.

We cannot read these words today and not weep with distress and anger at what we have seen and heard these last two years in Gaza and Israel. 

Lord  of mercy and healing, 

be a source of comfort to all who are suffering, 

all who are in pain, all who terrified and fearful, 

all who feel lost and without hope.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

How can humans allow relationships to sink to this level of violence, hate  and revenge?

Open our hearts and minds to perceive all that eats away at peace.

Pause our snap judgments that cannot see the bigger picture.

Remove our blinkers of prejudice and hate.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

How can humans created in the image of God, cause such pain and suffering on those equally created in the image of God?

Open our hearts and minds to empathise with those who suffer

Pause our urge to look away and forget

Remove our hardness of heart.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

How can communities and tribes believe that they can create a better future through warfare and violence?

Open our hearts and minds – and our purses – to rebuild peace: 

To build a world where all have food and homes, 

Where all can work and all can rest,

Where all are loved and all are valued.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

Devastated by our ignorance and impotence, we realise that we are not the wise and clever people we though we were. 

Transform our urge to disparage and find fault,

Transform our urge to put focus on our own interests,

Transform our lack of will.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

Peace is not just the absence the war. 

Peace provides clean water and sanitation.

Peace provides an ample sufficiency of healthy food.

Peace provides a loving home.

Peace provides protection from the elements.

Peace provides security from danger and freedom from fear.

Peace provides energy and resources to sustain daily occupations.

Peace provides health care.

Peace provides education.

Peace provides the freedom to worship.

Peace provides the means to listen to others and to tell your own story.

Peace encourages respect.

Peace provides the means to discuss and plan shared futures.

Peace enables fresh food to be grown and harvested.

Peace shares resources equitably.

Peace provides space to rest and time to enjoy friendship.

Peace it is a way of living that provides for the wellbeing of everyone.

Amen.

I am the Good Shepherd

13th September 2025

‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 34:31

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 10:11-15

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

A response: 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

In your gift is daily bread, sustenance for each day

From you comes wisdom and understanding –

the gift of peace.

The Lord desires green pasture and clear waters,

wooded hills that clap their hands, 

streams that overflow with joy –

a  world where all may rest in peace.

The Lord restores my soul, 

forgives my sins and heals my pain.
He renews my confidence so I too 

may renew broken relationships.


The Lord leads me in right paths.

He goes before us, leading by example 

and marking the way – 

on earth as in heaven.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 

even though the news is of  floods and drought, 

fires and tempest, I am comforted 

for the Lord is my steadfast companion.

 I hear of evil  – of warfare and greed, 

of persecution and oppression; 

of self-interest and self-delusion 

 – yet I  fear not evil, for the Lord is our righteousness.

You prepare a table before me 

where bread and wine will satisfy my wants. 

In the face of adversity, 

You anoint me with the Holy Spirit.
    

The goodness and mercy of the Lord 

 shall stay with me all the days of my life,
for the Lord is my shepherd 

and I shall not want. 

Prayer:

Sovereign God, Shepherd of your people:

When we walk along pilgrim ways,

You lead us and we thank you.

When we sing and pray for your guidance,

You are with us and we thank you.

When we stand alongside our brothers and sisters,

You are with us and we thank you.

When we call on those in authority to take action, 

You inspire us and we thank you.

As the days unfold, keep within us the hope of change.

Soften the hearts of those in authority 

in industry, in government and in the churches,

that all may respond to the cry of the earth 

and the cry of the poor.

Amen. 

The Grace 

Forgive our oily sins

6th September 2025

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26

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 Deuteronomy 30: 15-29

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,  I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live

 A response – 

When oil is pumped from the ground 

it leaves a sticky trail 

that reappears 

as polluted soil, polluted water and polluted air. 

It never becomes nothing. 

Living God, 

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When seeds are sown in the ground, 

the energy of the sun is absorbed 

and reappears as waving heads of corn.

It never becomes nothing. 

Living God, 

Praise to you for the  generosity that gives life.

When oil becomes petrol it powers the car 

but then reappears 

as an exhaust that pollutes the air and pollutes our lungs.

It never becomes nothing. 

Living God, 

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When the corn is cut the grain is milled

and the straw reappears as mulch, 

and the grain reappears as bread.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God, 

Praise to you for the  generosity that gives life.

When oil becomes plastic it can become anything –

but then reappears 

as pollution in the rivers and pollution in the seas,  

it reappears 

as micro particles in  the air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat – 

it even reappears in our blood!

It never becomes nothing. 

Living God, 

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When the bread is shared and the people fed, 

the energy reappears 

as hearts that love, 

as hands that heal and as minds that learn, 

as feet that walk alongside and as shoulders that share the load. 

It never becomes nothing. 

Living God, 

Praise to you for the  generosity that gives life.

The Grace.

In all creation God’s name is holy

31st  August  2025

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Luke 12:27

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 Job 12:7-9

But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?

A response:

Amongst the woods and forests,

between oaks and cedars,

God’s name is holy.

In the seas and oceans,

with whales and sea urchins,

God’s name is holy.

Across the moors and meadows,

with curlews and plovers,

God’s name is holy.

By riverbanks and streams,

following eels and kingfishers,

God’s name is holy.

High up on mountain peaks and glaciers,

sheltering in cwms and gullies,

God’s name is holy.

Gathered in barns and hives,

buzzing with bees and bats,

God’s name is holy.

Hidden under stones and snuck into crevices,

lying low with lizards and spiders,

God’s name is holy.

In all corners of the world

and where ever life exists,

God’s name is holy!

Amen.

Living God, 

when we neglect to see the beauty around us, 

open our eyes.

When we neglect to hear the music around us, 

open our ears.

When we neglect to feel your presence, 

awaken our senses.

When we neglect to receive your love, 

open our hearts.

Living God, 

re-inspire us with your Spirit, 

so that in us too your name is holy.

Amen. 

Prayers for peace

9th August 2025

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You bless us with a world that is good 

and look to us to be peace makers and peace keepers:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters: 

May we live together in peace.

Reading Micah 4: 2- 5

  And many nations shall come and say:
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
    and the word of the Lord from his dwelling place.

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.

For all the peoples walk,
    each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
    for ever and ever.

We cannot read words today and not weep with distress and anger at what we have seen and heard this week in Gaza and Israel.*

Lord  of mercy and healing, 

be a source of comfort to all who are suffering, 

all who are in pain, all who terrified and fearful, 

all who feel lost and without hope.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

How can humans allow relationships to sink to this level of violence, hate  and revenge?

Open our hearts and minds to perceive all that eats away at peace.

Pause our snap judgments that cannot see the bigger picture.

Remove our blinkers of prejudice and hate.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

How can humans created in the image of God, cause such pain and suffering on those equally created in the image of God?

Open our hearts and minds to empathise with those who suffer

Pause our urge to look away and forget

Remove our hardness of heart.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

How can communities and tribes believe that they can create a better future through warfare and violence?

Open our hearts and minds – and our purses – to rebuild peace: 

To build a world where all have food and homes, 

Where all can work and all can rest,

Where all are loved and all are valued.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

Devastated by our ignorance and impotence, we realise that we are not the wise and clever people we though we were. 

Transform our urge to disparage and find fault,

Transform our urge to put focus on our interests,

Transform our lack of will.

Lord in your loving mercy, restore peace on earth.

Peace is not just the absence the war. 

Peace provides clean water and sanitation.

Peace provides an ample sufficiency of healthy food.

Peace provides a loving home.

Peace provides protection from the elements.

Peace provides security from danger and freedom from fear.

Peace provides energy and resources to sustain daily occupations.

Peace provides health care.

Peace provides education.

Peace provides the freedom to worship.

Peace provides the means to listen to others and to tell your own story.

Peace encourages respect.

Peace provides the means to discuss and plan shared futures.

Peace enables fresh food to be grown and harvested.

Peace shares resources equitably.

Peace provides space to rest and time to enjoy friendship.

Peace it is a way of living that provides for the wellbeing of everyone.

Amen.

  • first written in October 2023

The Lord’s Prayer rephrased

2nd August 2025

Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. Luke 17:21b

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 Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’ And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

A response: 

Heavenly Mother & Father of us all,

Holy is your name.

Holy is your creation, 

from the heights above to the deepest depths, 

from the farthest horizon to the ground beneath our feet.


May your Kingdom come, 

may your reign prevail  and never end.

For the rule of God is to act 

with loving kindness and justice, 

with mercy and humility. 


Give us today our daily bread, 

feed us with your love, 

nourish us in our insecurities –

and give not just to us your people 

but to all our kindred in creation.


And in receiving, 

may we too become givers,  

giving bread, 

giving love, 

giving respect.


Forgive us our sins, 

forgive us  where we have fallen short 

and heal us, 

that we too may forgive 

and heal the wounds we have caused.


Enable us to look upon each other with love, 

knowing each and everyone 

to be a child created in your image 


Protect us from pride and apathy, 

direct us away from greed, 

vanity and temptation. 

Deliver us from evil, 

from the ills we have created.


In your Kingdom we will find glory, 

in your reign we will find harmony, 

and under your rule we will find peace.

Amen. Amen.

Amen.