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Intercessions from Harvest Festival

9^th May 2011 – offered by Ailsa Claridge 

Loving God, in the simplicity seen in the faith of children, we come before you with hearts over flowing in thanks giving for all you have given us. For the abundance of nourishing foods available to us, for the ability NZ has to be able to grow so much of what we eat, for the huge choices we are greeted by when we shop for our need for nourishment that food gives to our bodies. In such abundant supply, Lord, it is easy to take it all for granted. As we reflect on the generous bounty in this land, the food in our pantries and freezers, in what we have to eat this day and for tomorrow. We pause in prayer to give you our humble thanks and praise <<Pause>> And in our thanksgiving, we become aware of those who lack the necessities of life: of people in living below the poverty line and struggling to feed their families, of their inability to afford the foods that are the most nutritious because of the cost of milk, meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. We pray for intervention on the pricing of basic nutrition, and we pray for our own involvement in the needs we see around us. We pray for people throughout our world who are starving: for countries where there is poverty, where the rains have not fallen, where there has been famine, and where corruption means that innocent men, women and children this day and tomorrow will be hungry. Loving God in a world that could potentially grow enough food to feed each person, help us to see a way to become part of the solution to world hunger.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

Today, on Mother’s Day, we give thanks for our Mothers. For their love and care for us no matter how old we are. We pray giving thanks for mothers everywhere – for those who will be surrounded by family and honoured today, for busy mothers of young families, for those who this year become mothers for the first time, for the memories we hold of special times with our mums. We pray also for those for whom Mother’s day is difficult: for those who long to hear from their children, for those who struggle in their role of being a mother, for women who would dearly love to be mothers and battle with the emptiness they feel each mother’s day, for mothers who grieve for the lost of a child, for children and adults whose grief in the death of their mother is heightened this day. Loving God, on a day that is focussed on motherhood; hold each one in your love, and comfort those who struggle this day that they might find peace in you.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

In this Eastertide, we celebrate the love and peace, the hope and joy we know because of the risen Christ, your gift to us all gracious and merciful God. Your love held out to each one of us, offered to us in the death and resurrection of your only son, given freely for us. You offer us your hope, you pour out your love, and you give us your peace. We respond in worship and praise. We pray that we will be as Christ in this community, living out of the peace and hope and love we find in you.

 

We lift to you our world: all those places where peace is fragile, where hope has dwindled, where there is violence either naturally occurring or created by the actions of people. We pray for the peoples of all faiths – praying for peace, for the building of trust and for ways to live together amidst our differences. We pray for people of this world, who long for freedom of thought and government especially in the Syria and Libya this day, praying for freedom, for the bloodshed and violence to end, for peace. We pray for people recovering from disaster – from the earthquakes in Christchurch and Japan – for the endless waiting for the ground to become still, for those still waiting for basic services to be restored, for those whose homes are still waiting to be assessed or repaired, for business owners and employees with difficult decisions to make, for those experiencing a toll on their emotions, and mental stability; for the people of Christchurch and those in Japan who continue through these weeks and months to wait. We pray also for those suffering damage caused by extreme weather conditions – the wind and the rain in NZ over the last week.

                   Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are bereaved. Hold them in your strong and gentle embrace, as they grieve the passing of their loved ones. May they know the peace that only you can give.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

In silence now we bring to you, our loving heavenly Father, the burdens on our hearts for those we love and care for, and for ourselves for the coming week.

                   <quiet>

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.                          

A night-time prayer

Dear God, we give thanks for the darkness of the night
where lies the world of dreams.
Guide us closer to our dreams so that we may be nourished by them.
Give us good dreams and memory of them so that we may carry their
poetry and mystery into our daily lives.
Grant us deep and restful sleep that we may wake refreshed with
strength enough to renew a world grown tired.
We give thanks for the inspiration of stars, the dignity of the moon
and the lullabies of crickets and frogs.
Let us restore the night and reclaim it as a sanctuary of peace,
where silence shall be music to our hearts and darkness shall throw
light upon our souls. Good night. Sweet dreams AMEN

Loving God, in our prayers of intercession at this time, we come aware of the fragility of this beautiful planet, Earth. We look at the events of recent weeks and the enormity in the aftermath of each disaster reminds us afresh of just how small we are. Yet, loving God, each one of us, indeed each human being on this Earth, is loved by you and is precious in your sight. More precious and more loved than we can imagine.

We lift to you the people of Japan. Merciful God, we watch in dismay at the devastation of towns and cities. Gracious God, these people have so much to deal with – we pray for the resources needed for the basic necessities of life. We ask that you be with the families who are searching for loved ones, and with those who now find themselves alone.  Encircle them with your love, comfort them, and hold them in their pain.

As the authorities battle to try and contain the meltdown at the nuclear power plant, we pray for the wisdom and insight needed to bring a solution. We pray for those risking their own lives as they work to stabilise the nuclear power plant – give them courage and keep them safe from the effects of radiation.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

We lift to you, loving God, the city of Christchurch. We give thanks for the outpouring of love from within this country and around the world for the people of Christchurch. We pray for those who are still waiting for the things we take for granted – water, power, and a solid roof over their heads. We pray for all who continue to mourn over the loss that greets them daily. As parts of the city strive to return to some sort of normality, we lift to you those who now on top of everything else face unemployment: those who have lost their jobs and those whose businesses are at risk. We pray for children trying to pick up with their education in new school sites, and for teachers who need also to care for the emotional needs of these children. And we pray for all who are continuing to work in the recovery of that city.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

We pray for peace in the Middle East – and today especially for the countries of Yemen and Libya, We pray for the safety of innocent families, men, women, children and the elderly. We pray that the heart of the leaders will be for their people, their country and for the ways that will lead to peace. We are thankful for the freedoms we have here – for a democratic government, for the peace and ease with which we go about our daily lives. We pray for the needs of those peoples of the world who long for such freedoms.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

Loving God we bring to you the needs of this Cathedral. We pray our Bishops, our Dean Jamie, our priests and deacons – Bill, David, Gloria, Graeme and Annie and their families, for Chapter and Vestry, for Katy and her workers involved with the children, and each member of this faith community. Grant that in all we do together, we may seek to be “as Christ to the community” in this city and in this diocese.  Guide and direct our paths that in all things, we may bring glory to your name.

Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer.

We pray, for those we know who are sick, or sad or lonely. We ask that you draw near to them, comfort and sustain them. Wrap them in the arms of your love. We pray for all those who are grieving. For the families of Roger Lovell and Isabel England.  May they know the comfort of your love, and the peace that only you can give.

We give you thanks, gracious God that all are held in your love and care.

In silence now we bring to you, our loving heavenly Father, the burdens on our hearts for those we love and care for, and for ourselves for the coming week.

                   <quiet>

Merciful Father,  accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

God of mercy, today we mourn the deaths of the twenty-nine miners of Pike River. We acknowledge it is hard for us to understand, to forgive and to be forgiven. We want and need to express our anger, our fear, our distress, our sense of hopelessness.

As we light simple candles, may they remind us that even in tragedy and death, Christ is with us – we are not alone.

So we pray for the families of those who have died, the wives and sweethearts, the children, the brothers and sisters, the mothers and fathers, the friends and relatives, the whole whanau. We pray for their communities as they face the reality of death in their midst.

We pray for all who have worked and longed for a different outcome – be with them in this difficult time when failure looms all too large.

We thank you, God of life and death.

Christ facing death on the cross gives us courage;

Christ rising from the dead brings us hope.

The dawn breaks and gives light for the new day. Amen.

Click here to join in prayer for our country and a psalm

Greetings from Jerusalem.

We all pray for peace all the time. Many of us are of the belief that it will take an "act of God" to create the envirnoment in which a genuine and durable peace agreement might be achieved. Perhaps this is a time for us to offer God our humble prayers together to assist the Holy Spirit in this effort.

We will be using the attached prayers here at St. George's these next days and I offer them to you to use, adapt, change, improve, re-structure or re-design in any way you would find helpful for your particular circumstance.

May God bless you in your various ministries and callings.

Click here to read the liturgy for peace

Let us pray for a closer union with Christ in his passion.
Almighty, ever-living God, you have given the human race Jesus Christ our Saviour as a model of humility. He fulfilled your will by becoming human and giving his life on the cross. Help us to bear witness to you by following his example of suffering, and make us worthy to share in his resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.  Amen.

God of Peace, over the ages you have called us to live as peacemakers. You have called us to be a shalom people. You have called us to be Children of God.

We confess that we have not always lived out this calling. We do not want to face the difficulties of being called your disciples. We take the easy way out. We avoid controversy. We don't speak out when we know we should. For these things we ask your forgiveness.

We confess that we are too tolerant of war and violence. We depend on our own power and position to settle differences instead of asking for your wisdom.

Forgive us, Gracious God. We ask that your Spirit guide us to act with loving grace and peace. Be with us in our continuing efforts to be peacemakers. Amen.