Our prayers for God’s World

These are our prayers for others this day - Led by Ian Faulkner

Gracious, holy and loving God, we pray for our world: your vineyard.
We remember creation, breathed into life by God’s Holy Spirit: places of beauty and brilliance, places of grandeur and spectacle, places of extravagant diversity.
We pray, creating God, for places damaged and degraded, resulting in people scraping a living from land made fruitless by human greed.

. . .

Help us to live sparingly and to care for creation. We remember humanity, breathed into life by God’s Holy Spirit: people of beauty and brilliance, people of gifts and grace, people of extravagant diversity.

. . .

We pray for everyone affected by the COVID pandemic that surrounds us.
We pray for those working in the quarantine facilities, those greeting returnees at the airport and other entry points; those handling imports, and those front line staff in our hospitals.

We pray for those whose livelihoods have been impacted, who live with lost jobs or reduced work hours and now wonder how they can plan for a safe and secure future for themselves or their families, pay their rent or make their mortgage payments, and also ensure food is on the table.

. . .

We pray for our church families and especially for those who feel isolated because they cannot meet and share with their friends;
and for those who are unwell or not able to participate in the community groups that offer contact with others.

. . .

We pray for our children, especially those who are anxious because their learning has been disrupted and who feel concerned that they may be unable to meet the requirements for the next stages in their journey.

. . .

We pray for those who have offered themselves for the service of others, in the church and community, or who have exposed themselves to more scrutiny than usual because they have offered for public office.
We acknowledge Marion Hines offering herself for Office in the Presidential Team of Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa.
Our National election is now only 2 weeks away and the candidates all feel the pressure of the unknown of the ballot box.

. . .

We pray for those in the midst of flood and bushfire – natural occurrences,
events becoming more frequent and intense as the climate of our world changes;
and for those who are caught up in the politics of regimes and become refugees, fleeing the Middle East, North Africa, Myanmar and Central America, seeking new opportunities and a fresh start, only to find they are trapped in the horrors of refugee camps and detention centres;
or those seeking self-determination in West Papua, victims of international arrangements to protect investments.

. . .

And, we pray for ourselves and our immediate families.
May we be able to be supportive when that is what’s required; and to receive the support of others to enhance our living. Be with us all.

In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen

The Lord’s Prayer (in the style of an Abba Prayer) - Sonia Faulkner

Hymn - We are many, we are one

We are many, we are one, and the work of Christ is done when we learn to live in true community, as the stars that fill the night, as a flock of birds in flight, as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine; as the branches of a tree, as the waves upon the sea, as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine. All division is made whole when we honour every soul, find the life of God in every you and me, as the fingers of a hand, as the grains that form the sand, as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine; as the threads upon a loom, as a field of flowers in bloom, as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine. We will join creation’s song, make a world where all belong, build as one in peace and loving harmony, as the voices of a choir, as the flames within a fire, as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine; as the snowflakes in the snow, as the colours of a bow, as the cluster of the grapes upon the vine.

Colin Gibson (1998) Tune = HAMILTON Faith forever Singing #67