Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord is coming to be with you.

And also with you.

People of God, lay down your coats and lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the One who comes in God’s name.

Let us praise God for the mighty works we have witnessed.

It is right that we praise our God.

It is our highest joy to praise you,

God of enduring love.

All that is good and beautiful,

all that is just and true,

is your doing.

Morning by morning,

you whispered your dreams

and hopes into our hearts.

But we chose to listen

to different voices,

turning our backs on you

in rebellion and sin.

You sent the prophets

to waken our ears

to your songs of grace,

but we rejected them

as adversaries to our desires.

Yet you would not turn your face from us,

and sent the One who is named Salvation.

Therefore, we join our voices in thanksgiving,

with those in this place, and in every place,

with those in every moment, and in this moment,

singing with all creation to your glory:

Holy, holy, holy, God of palms and passion.

All creation proclaims your coming towards us.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the One who comes in your name.

Hosanna in the highest!

http://lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com/2016/03/liturgy-wcommunion-for-march-20-2016.html

Prayer of Confession

Sustainer of the weary,

we know how we sang for joy when Christ came into our lives,

and how we have not followed him when he leads us on this journey.

We have hidden our faces from the pain and suffering of our world.

We have turned a deaf ear to the cries of the poor, the hungry, the oppressed.

We trust in the slick promotions of the world,

and not in your words that can transform our lives.

Forgive us, Steadfast God, and shine your face upon us.

Help us to have the same mind as Christ,

so we would know your promises;

help us to have the same heart as Christ,

so we might serve your children;

help us to have the same Spirit as Christ,

so we might go wherever you lead us.

We pray this in Jesus’ Name

Amen

Prayers of the People

Let us come before God with our cares and our concerns.

  We pray for the Church, that we may join Christ in letting go of control and power, and allow the your Spirit to sustain and renew us each day.

  We pray for all who are suffering for the sake of others, that you will give them strength, help them to serve without looking for a reward, and draw them closer to Jesus through their deeds of service.

  We pray for the grace to forgive, that we may have the courage to forgive freely all who injure us just as you have forgiven us.

  We pray for single-heartedness, that you will help us entrust every aspect of our lives into your hands and grow in our desire that your Will be done in all things.

  We pray for the gift of humility, that we may not seek honour but, like Christ, offer ourselves in service to one another.

  We pray for all who are suffering, particularly Christians being persecuted for living the Gospel, that you will sustain them and help them to give faithful witness to the Gospel.

  We pray for all who have been humiliated or unjustly accused, that you will give them strength, heal their pain, and help them find their value in being your children.

  We pray for governmental leaders, that you will help them to lay aside personal gain and follow the example of Christ in making service of those in need a guiding principle of their work.

  We pray for all who are experiencing loss and small deaths in their lives, that you will sustain them through loss of health, employment, or relationships, accompany them through their pain, and lead them into new life.

  We pray for all refugees and displaced persons, that you will guide them to safety, open the hearts of many to accompany and support them, and help them to reconnect with loved ones and faith communities.

  We pray for peace, particularly in Ukraine, that the passion of Christ will break down the barriers in the hearts of opponents and open new levels of honesty in the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.

Copyright © 2022. Joe Milner. All rights reserved.<br> Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use.  https://liturgy.slu.edu/

  We pray for The Leprosy Mission Sudan as it works closely with the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health and Khartoum State to defeat leprosy and other transmissible diseases, as well as bringing greater awareness of leprosy and its consequences.

  We pray that with the democratic elections that will take place in 2022, that the elected government will work with the Sudanese team and its partners, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Aburoff Clinic to provide leprosy services, such as wound care, protective footwear, and eye care.

  We pray for the ongoing support for the Aburoff Clinic, Sudan’s only specialist leprosy centre, and for the people who travel from across Sudan for treatment there.

   We pray for continued successful and fruitful cooperation between The Leprosy mission and the Sudanese Ministry of Health, for the willingness to continue providing leprosy services together.

  We pray for the safety and security of our team, the Aburoff Clinic, and persons affected by leprosy in Sudan.  We pray for the leprosy contact tracing efforts in Sudan, for a change in the difficulty in identifying and diagnosing leprosy patients because of the stigma attached to this disease.

  We pray for all patients at the Aburoff Clinic who are experiencing leprosy reaction, which can make patients feel very unwell for extended periods, for their quick healing.  We pray for The Leprosy Mission’s leadership within Sudan, John and Seela, that you will bless the work of their hands and that He will guide and protect them and their families.

(Leprosy Mission 2022 Prayer diary)

  We pray for the peoples of the Balkans, in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.

  We give thanks for the rich legacies that this area has long embodied, for those who kept both the people and their faith alive during years of repression, for those pursuing peace and reconciliation between the different ethnic and religious groups, and for the resurgence of the ecumenical witness of churches in recent years.

  We pray for a continual healing of historic memories and pains that have been mutually inflicted, for those who continue to experience marginalization and injustice, especially the Roma, for religion to be a means of healing rather than of further separation and exploitation, and for the nurturing and sustaining of pluralistic societies in the Balkans.

Prayer before the proclamation of God’s word

  Lord God, enlighten us through your word so that we can discover the needs of the people around us.

  You are God, the Almighty, and we thank you that like a Father you protect us and through your divine mercy and love you create living space for us and for every single person.

  We ask you especially to show mercy to our nation.  Enlighten us through your divine Spirit and create in the hearts of the people interest in your word.

  And in this time of crisis and challenges give wisdom from above so that we stay true to your word so that we can respond to the different needs – in both the spiritual and physical aspects.

  God, watch over us, because of the mercy and love of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

(Rev. Mihail Cekov)

Litany of unity

Let us ask God for the gift of unity:

God, our Father, who has created all things,
we are your children.
It is your will that we live together in peace
and stand by one another as sisters and brothers.
Your will be done.

Jesus Christ, Son of God,
you have prayed for the unity of all who are baptized in your name,
who believe in you and confess your name.
Is it your will, that the Church, your body, be one.
Your will be done.

Holy Spirit of God,
you have filled the Apostles with the fire of courage
to proclaim the Good News.
It is your will that we proclaim with one voice the great deeds of God
and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Your will be done.

(Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 1986, Slovenia)

May we love you

Set our hearts on fire with love for you,
O Christ, our God,
that in its flame we may love you
with all our heart, with all our mind,
with all our soul and with all our strength,
and love our neighbours as ourselves,
so that by keeping your commandments
we may glorify you,
the giver of all good gifts.

(Mother Teresa, Macedonia, TPP,  p. 227.)

The Balkans – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)

  We pray for the holiday camps being organised by Scripture Union, that they will be a fun and safe place for the campers.  We pray for the leaders, the cooks and the helpers that they will be enthusiastic and encouraged as they work through the camp program and interact with the campers.  We pray for the campers, that they will experience God’s unconditional love over the period they are at camp and be challenged by the Gospel message.

  (SU Prayer Diary 2022) 

We pray for those attending Easter Madness camp, that it will be a enjoyable and safe place for them.  Encourage and support the leaders as they seek to manage the program for the camp.  Challenge the campers to commit to a deeper relationship with you.

We pray for the Women’s Fellowship of the Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu as the train women to adapt their gardens to the rising salt levels in the water table and as they call people back to a study of the bible to bring back a sense of purpose and hope back to communities struggling with despair and domestic violence.

We pray for The Methodist Church in Fiji with their disaster preparation and response work, with the distribution of clothing food and water to the most vulnerable, the provision of training is disaster risk assessment, the provision of chaplains to counsel survivors of the recent disaster, and the efforts to encourage families to send their children back to school.  We ask for your blessing on the use of teaching resources based on the Bible which the Church uses to preach and teach about the big issues relating to their culture.

We pray for your guidance for those leading and attending the upcoming Queensland Synod and National Assembly of the Uniting Church, asking for clear guidance on the matters to be discussed, and a willingness to be led by your Spirit in what is your Will for the Church for the future.

We pray for Ian and the other leaders of Religious Education classes at Bald Hills State School, that they will be encouraged and equipped to present the Gospel message to the children.  May the Holy Spirit work in the minds and the hearts of the children in the classes that the hope of the salvation that you offer will become real to them.

We pray for Kylie Conomos, that she is resting and being refreshed during these school holidays.

We pray for those whom we have not seen for some time, for Hazel, for Laurie, for Sue, and for Heather, that you will support and encourage them each day.  We ask that they will experience your closeness with them each day.

We pray for encouragement for Jillian as she commences her time with the Congregation, working with the Church Council and the people of the Congregation to clarify our vision and mission goals as your people in our small part of the World, and as we envisage what the future may hold for us as your witnesses in the Bald Hills area.  We ask for your blessing and guidance as the Church council and Congregation progresses through the Stats have Faces process.

We ask for your blessing on the joint afternoon tea planned for Sunday 15^th May for members of the Bald Hills and Deception Bay Congregations, that it will be an enjoyable time of fellowship.

Loving God, we bring these prayers to you, trusting in your compassion and care.  To your glory we pray.

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name,

your Kingdom come,

your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil,

For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,

now and forever.  Amen.