We are grateful to those who will be leading our worship and keeping the doors of our churches open and us all praying this weekend. We will be joined in worship of almighty God, the heavenly Father of us all, with people in many and different places.
Songs of Praise service If music be the food of life, sing on! It is good to sing together. It cheers the soul to be thankful and be united in praise.
What is your favourite hymn /song and why?
This week we are asked to pray
Prayers for the week Thank you to Judith A for this week’s prayers.
Heavenly Father, as we approach the end of the holiday season, we thank you for times of refreshment, for opportunities to reconnect with friends and family and for new experiences. Bless us as we return to our usual tasks and routines and help us to face them with renewed enthusiasm and energy. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Loving God, we pray for our planet. We marvel at the wonders of your creation, the fascinating animals and plants, the changing seasons, so many beautiful landscapes... and we thank you for them all. Please forgive us for the ways in which we have failed to be good stewards of all you have made, for our selfish exploitation of the resources you have supplied, for our destruction of habitats and pollution of the seas. Help us, good Lord, to turn things around, to repair what we have damaged and develop better, healthier ways of living and being. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, we pray for the people of the United States of America as they prepare to elect a new president. We are aware that whoever they elect will have an enormous influence on the future of our world and we ask that you will guide them to choose the person you want to lead that great country. Please protect the candidates from harm and grant that peace and unity will replace discord and division. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, we pray for peace in the Middle East. Please help the leaders of Hamas and Israel to agree on the terms of a peace deal so that the suffering on both sides of the conflict will not increase and the risk of a full-scale war will be avoided. We pray also for peace between Ukraine and Russia, and in the many other places where there is fighting and people have had to flee their homes. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord, we pray for your church worldwide. Please give church leaders courage to speak out against false teaching, injustice and corruption and to lead their congregations to spread the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We pray for our churches in this Benefice, and humbly ask you to show us how to reach more people with your life-giving message.
Please bless Steve and Lindsay as they continue their work in Honduras. Help them to cope with all the difficulties they are facing at this time and show us the best way to support them. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Father, we ask you to bless and heal all those we know who are sick at this time. Show us the best ways to help them and grant that they will feel your presence with them. We pray also for those who have recently lost loved one and ask you to comfort them.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.