These are our prayers for God’s world today.

God of peace, you have called us all to work for peace and justice. Wherever we are, we can find opportunities to stand with people, and identify with their needs and hopes. We can no longer be silent – where there is need, there is a task for us. Wherever there is unfulfilled hope, we can be an inspiration of a new future. God you call each of us to be the vehicles of hospitality.

This morning we pray for our COVID-ravaged world. While here in New Zealand we would seem to be containing this virus, we hear of uncontrolled outbreaks amongst the most vulnerable in our world, as well as mounting numbers in places we would expect to be well placed to face what’s happening.
In our vulnerability we give thanks for medical staff and those we charge with keeping us safe.
We pray for those on the frontline, whose everyday challenge is to keep others and themselves safe.
And, we pray for families who wonder whether their children have been inadvertently exposed to the virus by passing contacts at school; and we pray that everyone understands and adheres to the advice we have been given to prevent further infections. May we be people who shut our ears to conspiracy theories and scaremongering; and be truly signs of hope to those we meet and associate with.

We pray for those who face uncertainty, who have lost jobs or have had work hours reduced and wonder what the future holds. Surround all those experiencing this disconnect from their known world, or the world as they could imagine it to be, with the knowledge of your love and the support of family, friends, neighbours and their church.

In this lead-up to our General Election we pray for those who are seeking election. May they be true to themselves as they seek to represent their communities in Parliament. May they continue to inspire us to do what is right, and saved from cheap political point-scoring, and may their focus be on finding the best way forward for our country and all its people.

God of our knowing selves, God of our inquisitive selves: when we stop being curious, our relationships wither. May we encounter others today not with our minds made up, but our ears pricked up with interest and fascination. May we form questions still open to the possibility of surprise, finding something wonderful in the answers we weren’t expecting, and discovering how everyday experiences can still change us, when we let them.

Loving and gracious God, we pray for all church families at Pitt Street and Kingsland. May our community of faith continue to be a beacon of light and hope in the inner city and in the suburbs in which we live.

In the name of God, creator and giver of life we pray.
Amen.