Category: Prayers

Thanks for table fellowship

15th February 2025

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.

Reading Mark 6: 38-44 ( from The Message)

But he was quite serious. “How many loaves of bread do you have? Take an inventory.”

That didn’t take long. “Five,” they said, “plus two fish.”

 Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred—they looked like a patchwork quilt of wildflowers spread out on the green grass! He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples in turn gave it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate their fill. The disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. More than five thousand were at the supper.  

Table Piece

Around the table, smallest to largest, 

youngest to oldest – comfortable and companionable.

Bread, first mixed and kneaded, 

shared together at the table.

Wisdom, debated and pondered,

gathered from around the table. 

Gentle chiding, loving acceptance, laughter –

differences reconciled at the table.

Thanks given, prayers said, hands clasped 

a place of worship at the table.

Kith and kin, friends – all welcome: love 

a community built around the table.

Prayers

We give thanks O Lord, for the food we have to eat, 

for the opportunities we have to eat together, 

for the times we gather to share and  learn together, 

and for the joy of worshipping at your table. 

We pray Lord, for all who struggle to get food to eat, 

all who lack the companionship of friends and family, 

all who are exploited and all who are fall prey to disinformation, 

and for all who have yet to feel included at you table. 

Stir us Lord, to respond with generosity and determination 

to feed the hungry, 

to transform the inequalities of society, 

to reach out to those starved of love,

and to nourish all with your word.

Amen. 

God’s kingdom – food for all

8th February 2025

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 Mark 4:3-8

 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 

Pause for reflection

Response:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

So may we store water for when and for whoever needs it,

and safeguard those living with the threat of flooding.

As the earth brings forth and sprouts,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So may we harvest what is needed, 

sharing the bounty so no one goes hungry.

So shall God’s word be that goes forth; it shall not return empty,
but it shall accomplish that which is purposed
    and succeed in the thing for which it is sent.

May we pay attention to God’s word,

 following the ways of wisdom that God desires 

for the wellbeing of all creation.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

May we protect the fertility of the soil,

not polluting it with chemicals 

nor stripping it of nourishment.


And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

May we treasure those who tend and farm the land,

paying fair wages and sharing profits.

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations:

May we welcome God’s kingdom with all our being,

following God’s law with hands, hearts and voices.

(Based on Isaiah 55:10,11 and 61:11)


The Grace is said together

Prayers for Candlemas

1st February 2025

“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations. Isaiah 42:6

You Lord are the light of the world:

help us to see.

Your word is a light for our path:

guide us in all we do.

Whatever we say or do:

let it be to the glory of God.

A reading from Luke 2: 29- 35

“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,

as you have promised.

I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.

He is a light to reveal God to the nations,

and he is the glory of your people Israel.” 

Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Response:

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the tops of the  mountains where the glaciers are fast disappearing?

Will it follow the rivers that flow down from the mountains? 

Will it light upon the people who rely on the river for their livelihoods?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the depths of the earth where conglomerates mine for minerals and riches?

Will it reach the depth of the oceans where conglomerates drill for oil and gas?

Will it follow the flow of money that skips lightly past those who labour,  

and fills the ever deepening pockets of the wealthy?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it reach the verdant understory deep within the rainforests? 

Or will it find that space already punctured by sugar and soy plantations?

Will it be embraced by a rich biodiverse ecosystem – 

or will it search desperately for indigenous lives that are no more?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it glitter on the vast whiteness of the poles? 

Or will it sink into the void that melting ice has left behind?

Will it bring life to the Arctic tern and the walrus? 

Will it be a ray of light for the penguin chick and the polar bear cub?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will reach inside  apartment blocks  split open by bombs?

Will it reach inside the ‘temporary’ abodes of the refugee camp?

Will it reach inside those precarious homes where the need for heat 

faces a constant battle with the need to eat?

Will it spotlight communities in need of levelling up?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

For the times we have masked your light so that its message is obscured:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refocused your light away from those in need:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have directed your light away from our own shortcomings:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refused to see where your light is pointing:

Lord have mercy.

Renew in us your spark that we may be visible agents of your Kingdom and active agents of your purpose.

Amen.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Thanksgiving for food and meals

25th January 2025

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.

Reading Mark 6: 38-44 ( from The Message)

But he was quite serious. “How many loaves of bread do you have? Take an inventory.”

That didn’t take long. “Five,” they said, “plus two fish.”

 Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred—they looked like a patchwork quilt of wildflowers spread out on the green grass! He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples in turn gave it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate their fill. The disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. More than five thousand were at the supper.  

Table Piece

Around the table, smallest to largest, 

youngest to oldest – comfortable and companionable.

Bread, first mixed and kneaded, 

shared together at the table.

Wisdom, debated and pondered,

gathered from around the table. 

Gentle chiding, loving acceptance, laughter –

differences reconciled at the table.

Thanks given, prayers said, hands clasped 

a place of worship at the table.

Kith and kin, friends – all welcome: love 

a community built around the table.

Prayers

We give thanks O Lord, for the food we have to eat, 

for the opportunities we have to eat together, 

for the times we gather to share and  learn, 

and for the joy of worshipping at your table. 

We pray Lord, for all who struggle to get food to eat, 

all who lack the companionship of friends and family, 

all who are exploited and all who are fall prey to disinformation, 

and for all who have yet to feel included at you table. 

Stir us Lord, to respond with generosity and determination 

to feed the hungry, 

to transform the inequalities of society, 

to reach out to those starved of love,

and to nourish all with your word.

Amen. 

Prayers for the outpouring of God’s Spirit

18th January 2025

I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. Genesis 17:17 

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 8:6-9

Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper.

As at the beginning, Lord God, 

you made us in your image 

and wrought with us a special bond, 

an everlasting covenant of faith and love.

Continue to breathe your Spirit 

into our hearts 

that we may truly return that love.

As at the beginning, Lord God, 

you have provided us good rich land, 

overflowing with the good things of creation – 

plants for food, water to drink.

Continue to breathe your Spirit 

into our hearts 

that we may be truly grateful. 

As at the beginning, Lord God, 

you created all manner of creatures

 – our kith and kin – 

for companionship and teamwork.

Continue to breathe your Spirit 

into our hearts 

that we may be faithful friends.

As from the beginning, Lord God, 

you have filled the world with signs 

and words of wisdom 

so that we may learn and live well. 

Continue to breathe your Spirit 

into our hearts 

that we may be attentive to your instruction.

As from the beginning, Lord God, 

you have created a world of harmony 

and flourishing 

that all may live lives of fulfilment. 

Continue to breathe your Spirit 

into our hearts 

that we may be at one with all creation.

As from the beginning, Lord God, 

you have a created your world 

as a place for joy and love to thrive 

and where happiness will abound.

Continue to breathe your Spirit 

into our hearts 

that we may ever rejoice and praise your glory. 

Amen. 

Epiphany – waters of life

11th January 2025

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:3

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 from Mark 1:1-3, 9-11

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

As in the beginning the Spirit of God hovered over the waters, 

so were the waters parted and the earth came into being.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As in the beginning the earth responded to the Word of God,

so land and sea, rivers and mountains and oceans came into being.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As from the beginning rains and water soaked the earth, 

so herbs and plants and trees came into being.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As from the beginning all manner of vegetation flourished,

so the fruits in their season provide food for all living beings. 

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As from the beginning the Word of God has been a constant source of wisdom, 

so your people have been guided and inspired.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As the Spirit of God hovers over the waters of the Jordan, 

so in baptism the Son of God was made manifest.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As the waters were blessed through the Word of God, 

so all who are baptised are made one in Christ.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

Holy God, Spirit and Word, 

as we seek make sense of our human failings, 

as we seek to heal the damage we have caused, 

and as we seek to love and cherish all that you have created, 

prepare for us a way to follow.

Amen.

 

Wassail – Prayers for trees and fruitfulness 

4th January 2025

Wassailing and the blessing of fruit trees traditionally takes place at some point during January – after the solstice when the days are growing longer and before the trees fully form their buds. Wassail means good health!

For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

A reading Genesis 2: 4b, 8-9, 15-17

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there planted the human whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord God took and placed the human in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

Lord God who first planted the garden of Eden,

bless the gardens we too tend.

Wassail!

Lord God who made every tree to grow,

bless the trees we have planted.

Wassail!

Lord God who gave us trees with fruits pleasing to the eye and good to eat,

bless these trees with such fruits.

Wassail!

Lord God who made us to be your gardeners,

bless the work of our hands.

Wassail!

Lord God who created birds and insects, bugs and all manner of creatures 

to be our companions and helpers in the garden,

bless them one and all.

Wassail!

Lord God whose earth produces food in due season,

may we share that equally and generously with all our kith and kin.

Wassail!

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:1-2

Prayers for the feast of the Holy Innocents

28th December 2024

Thus says the Lord, “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children   and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31: 15

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

Yet we fail you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

Yet we fail you.

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

Yet we fail you.

A reading from Matthew 2: 16-18

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
    wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’

Response

Thus says the Lord, ‘Not only in Ramah but in Ramallah too

is the sound of wailing  and lamentation heard!’

In Rafah, Jabalia and Khan Yunis too

is the sound of wailing  and lamentation heard!

In Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al Salam of North Darfur

is the sound of wailing  and lamentation heard!

In the refugee camps of Arkoum,  Adré and Farchana, Chad

is the sound of wailing and lamentation heard!

In Goma, north east in the Democratic Republic of Congo

is the sound of wailing and lamentation heard!

In the gang warfare in Haiti

is the sound of wailing and lamentation heard!

In the aftermath of earth quakes in Vanuatu

is the sound of wailing and lamentation heard!

In the small boats crossing the Mediterranean and the Channel 

is the sound of wailing of wailing and lamentation heard.

In the underground shelters and the streets of Kharkiv, Lviv, and Odesa

is the sound of wailing and lamentation heard!

Lord, how is it we do not hear and do not respond?

Lord, how is it that our governments ignore the cries 

and yet continue to send arms?

Lord, how is it that politicians say they understand people’s concern

and yet just sit on their hands?

Lord, how is it that financial institutions perceive the risks

and yet continue to provide the funds?

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15

Prayer

Merciful God, Mother and Father of all,

remake in us new hearts for love, 

new minds for wisdom, 

and new resolve for action.

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

where the wolf shall live with the lamb, 

where refugees will not have to fear a tyrants rage.

Help us to reshape our world as a place

where the leopard will lie down with the kid, 

where those of minority faiths will not fear oppression.

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

where the calf, the lion and the fatling  will be led by a child,

and where no child will be sidelined by those in power.

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

where the cow and bear, the calf and cub, will eat together,

where no one will go hungry because someone has hoarded the surplus.

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

where the lion eats like an ox, 

where the CEO will dine like a delivery driver – and vice versa.

Help us to reshape our world as a place where the

where the baby shall play over the hole of the asp, 

where babies will sleep to the lullabies of the wind turbine.

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

where the toddler will put its hand on the adder’s den, 

where all will be inoculated against childhood diseases.

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

where no one will cause injury or destruction, 

where all will be treated as holy. 

Help us to reshape our world as a place 

that is as full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters that cover the sea.

Amen. (With material from Isaiah 11 6-9)

At the Solstice 

21st December 2024 

And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. Genesis 1:14-15

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 Isaiah 45: 7-8

I form light and create darkness,
    I make weal and create woe;
    I the Lord do all these things.

Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,
    and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
    I the Lord have created it.

A response:

A turning point in the year is reached, 

and as the longest night reaches its peak

and the shortest day 

recedes to its briefest span –

so the sun’s year turns again.

The dark draws back 

its day time occupation, 

and gradually reframes itself once more 

as night.

But before we rush on, 

let’s take time to embrace the dark 

that gives us rest – and time to pause – 

with long evenings when books and loved ones 

can calm our souls.

And before we rush on, 

let’s take time to ponder how 

the Advent days of expectant waiting 

have kept pace with the darker nights – 

and how even now 

the mornings’s dawn still holds off 

as if waiting for that greater light.

And those of us who have walked in darkness 

will see that light, the dawning 

of the day that ushers in new beginnings, 

new life, the sun reborn, 

the birth of the Christ child.

As the sun-shaped days take hold, 

it is the evenings that first draw back 

releasing the season’s extra light,

the assurance of the Son’s salvation.

From now on the days will lengthen, 

extending once more the working day. 

As we look up to the skies and down to the earth, 

let righteousness sprout forth. 

As seasons turn and new years begin, 

together we shall journey on into God’s kingdom.

May God bless us in the darkness.

May God bless us in the light.

May God bless us in each season.

May God bless us with salvation in the birth of the Son.

Amen.

A voice cries out 

30th November 2024

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22

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 Jeremiah 23: 5-6

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

A reflection on Isaiah 40:3-5

A voice cries out:  In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord –

Let us open our hearts and minds to receive the wisdom of God, 

to attune our ears to the word of God, 

and focus our eyes to see the wonder of God’s creation. 


A voice cries out: Make straight in the desert a highway for our God –

Let us set straight the trajectory of decisions 

that will cut carbon emissions, 

that will cut the use and abuse of plastics

and that will target a sustainable future.

A voice cries out: Let every valley be lifted up –

Let us share our national wealth 

to cancel the impossible debts of the majority south, 

to give them the financial power to adapt to climate change 

and to lift their people out of poverty.

A voice cries out: Let every mountain and hill be made low – 

Let us remove all that  impedes the development of other economies, 

let us share our technology and resources, 

let us remove unequal trade restrictions 

and let us be ready to learn from others in return.


A voice cries out: Let the uneven ground become level,
    and the rough places a plain –

Let us make level the global playing field, 

treat everyone as equals, removing all prejudice and bias, 

welcoming the stranger and the migrant,

and embracing everyone as brother and sister.

A voice cries out: Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed –

Let us recognise that we are all one creation, 

that together we reveal the glory of God’s gift to us, 

and all of us our able to reflect that glory throughout our lives.

A voice cries out: Let all people shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

Amen. Amen. Amen.