Who is a Saint? Who do we thank God for? And will we be in that number? We pray for Rupert due to be baptised on Sunday and we remember our loved ones together this All Souls time and consider the amazing story of Ruth at some of our varied services.
This week we are asked to pray
Prayers for the week from "Roots on the Web" Lord, help us to know what ‘love’ actually means in practice. Help it not to be just a theory or an emotion but a way in which we demonstrate who you are to those around us. As we recognise the need to love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, help us to be prepared to be willing to love. Help us to work at loving others. Help us to get our hands dirty and our hearts broken because we are willing to serve you wherever, and in whatever way, you lead us. Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Lord, as we look at the world around us, we see so much pain. We see so much sorrow. We see places torn apart by war because we have forgotten how to love our neighbours as ourselves. We pray for Ukraine and all other nations in the world torn apart by aggression, hatred and fear. We pray for an end to all hostilities. Lord, we lift the continuing crisis in the Middle East to you. We cry out to you for the hostages, that they might be freed. We weep for those whose lives have been shattered by destruction of their homes and for all those who mourn those who have died as a result of the conflict. Lord, be especially close to them, we pray. Show us what we can do to relieve some of the suffering. We continue to pray for peace and love to transform the hearts of all who seek violence. We pray that aid will still be able to reach the people of Gaza who so desperately need the basic essentials. Speak peace into the hearts of the leaders of the nations that they may see that your way of truth and love is the only true way forward. Lord, as we weep for the nations of the world: Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Lord, as the US election approaches this week, we pray for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Lord, may they stand up for truth, justice and a willingness to serve. We pray for a clear result that leaves no room for uncertainty among the population. May the result unite the country rather than dividing it, we pray. Lord, whoever wins, may they turn to you for their support and strength. We pray for an outpouring of your love across the USA during polling day and beyond. Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Lord, we pray for refugees and all who have to flee their homeland because of violence, famine, injustice or other pain. Lord, help your world to become a place of welcome and compassion where everyone is treated with respect and justice. We pray for all who seek to exploit the poor and oppressed, asking that you would convict them of the wrong they are doing. We pray for those who, even now, are stepping onto cramped, dangerous, inflatable boats seeking solace in another country. Keep them safe. May they be met with kindness and compassion when they land on another shore. Lord, when we meet with those who are different from us, may we be welcoming and servant-hearted, always seeking to treat them as we would like to be treated ourselves. Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Lord, you have called us to love with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This is a hard calling, so we need your help. We pause for a moment to think of those we find it hard to love… give us grace, Lord, to see them through your eyes. And forgive us, Lord, for the times when we make ourselves unlovable… perhaps in the way we react to criticism, when we want our own way, when we are selfish or argumentative. Lord, forgive us and help us to forgive others too. Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And, Lord, we bring to you those who we love very dearly. We pause to picture them now… Thank you for people in our lives who love us and who we can love in return. Give us grace this week to show them how much we love them and rejoice that they are in our lives. And, Lord, we pray for those we know who are sick, especially.... Help us to be your caring hands and to speak your calming words to all those we know who are suffering. We lift before you those who are sad at the death of a loved one. Bring them your comfort and peace and show us how to weep with them or sit with them in their pain. Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We consider, now, those who we meet on a day-to-day basis: our colleagues, our school friends and classmates and teachers, those who run our local shops and businesses, our bus drivers, delivery drivers, those who walk the dog past our house… Lord, show us ways that we can treat them with kindness and respect this week. Go before us into every situation so that the fragrance of your love invades our every space. Help us to bring your peace into every moment of conflict, your love into every moment of friendship, your wisdom into every moment of confusion and your joy into every moment of fun and laughter. Help us to actually, wholeheartedly, deeply love: With all our heart, soul, mind and strength. As we seek to serve you and others with the love with which you served us. Amen.