Prayer of Praise  

( from Uniting in Worship 1, p566 &567 &568 nos. 6, 7, 8, 11, 12) 

  Blessed are you, Heavenly Father, sovereign ruler of all Creation: we glorify and adore you.

Blessed are you, Lord Jesus Christ, loving Saviour of the World: we glorify and adore you.   

Blessed are you, Eternal Spirit, gracious source of light and love: we glorify and adore you.

  Almighty God, we meet to celebrate your greatness, to sing to your honour and to offer you our thanks.  You created the Universe by your power, you saved Humanity by your mercy, and you renew us by your grace.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we offer you our grateful praise.  Almighty God, we are in wonder of your majesty and glory.  We are in awe of your willingness to restore life to us, who had been dead in our sin.  It is you who inspires our every noble thought and our every loving deed.  It is you who sustains us by your warm embrace and guiding hand.

  Almighty God, it is your hands that guide the History of Humanity, it is your will that directs the decisions of Nations, it is your purpose that is fulfilled by the actions of Nations.  For nothing happens without your consent and approval.  You allow the rise and fall of Nations, and the tensions between Kingdoms, over property and power, for, in ways that we cannot determine, these are aligned with the coming of your Kingdom and your rule.  Almighty God, it is you that we worship, here in our gathering.  May all our words and our thoughts by focused upon you and your goodness towards us.  To your honour and glory we pray, Amen.

Prayer of Confession 

(from Uniting in Worship 1 p584 nos.11, 12, 13) 

Merciful God, in our humbleness we confess that we have sinned against you and against one another.  We have sinned in thought, word and deed.  We have sinned by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.  We have sinned through our ignorance and our weaknesses, and by our wilfulness and our deliberate intent.

  Merciful God, we claim to readily follow your guidance, yet we close our ears when you seek to talk to us.  We claim to admire the example you set of looking after the needy and the deserving, yet we close our eyes to their plight in the busyness of our lives.  We claim to study your Word day and night, yet we close off our minds to you and are enticed away by what the World seeks to offer to us.

  Merciful God, there are parts to our lives that are too valuable to us to give over to you, there are secret desires and pleasures which we do not what to give up, there are hidden faults and blemishes that we don’t want to reveal to you.  Please give to us the courage to let your light shine onto all parts of our lives.  Please give to us the willingness to let you wash away those parts that are not good or pure or holy.

  Merciful God, forgive us our sins, blot out our guilt, remove our faults.  Renew a right relationship with us so that we may again know the joy of intimate fellowship and closeness with you.  To your honour and glory we pray.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness 

(from 1 Corinthians 15: 57) 

The Apostle Paul reminded the Church in Corinth that God gives victory over sin through His son, Jesus Christ.  That same victory is ours.  Having confessed our sins before God, let us hold onto that promise with thanks in our hearts, trusting that God has listened to our pleas, that God has forgiven us and that He has cleansed us in His sight.

Thanks be to God.

Prayers for Others

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

  Almighty God, we pray for the Church, that we may be instruments of your mercy and compassion by sharing what the forgiveness that we have received with others.  Save your Church from the idolatry of exalting people because of their character or gifts, such that the risk is that they are worshipped above you.

  We pray for forgiveness and healing in the Church, that you will heal the wounds that have weakened the Body of Christ and renew our spirits to further the mission of Jesus.

  We pray for the grace to forgive, that you will help us to forgive those who have injured us and to pray for them and their needs.

  We pray for the conversion of our hearts, that your covenant love will empower us to be instruments of non-violence and learn to turn the other cheek when we are injured.

  We pray for freedom of heart, that the Holy Spirit will free us from returning evil for evil and instead guide us in confronting evil with love and mercy.

  We pray for all who have been our enemies, whether politically, economically, or personally, that we may let go of hurts and grudges, and seek a new understanding of them.

  We pray for all who suffer violence on city streets or in their homes, that you will heal their physical, emotional, and mental wounds, and help them to be sources of hope and encouragement for others.

  We pray for new eyes and hearts, that the Holy Spirit will help us to recognize those in need as our sisters and brothers and give us the courage to respond to them as family.

  We pray for the freedom of spirit that ensures that we share our resources generously with those who are in need even as God has freely shared with us.

  We pray for all who have never experienced forgiveness, that they may encounter the free and healing gift of forgiveness through someone who loves as Jesus taught.

  We pray for the healing of racial and ethnic hatreds, that all people may see the value and dignity of each person as one of your children.

  We pray for all who are alienated from the Church, that you will heal their hurts and help them to find welcome and acceptance in a worship community.

  We pray for all who have experienced abuse, that you will heal their memories, their emotions, and their physical wounds so that they may be free to love and to share life with others.

  We pray for all who are suffering, that God will free those unjustly held, bring justice to the oppressed, hope to those who are grieving, and healing to the sick.

  We pray for Peace, that you will guide World leaders to end arms proliferation and use their resources instead to end famine, disease, and oppression.

  We pray that your blessing and guidance are upon those who are tending the sick and those who are weak in body. Mind and soul.  Give wisdom and insight to those involved in medical research, that they may develop new cures for ailments and diseases.

  We pray for those who are weary and discouraged because they see no gain or progress in their life as a benefit from a lifetime of work.  Strengthen them with the understanding that it is you who provides for them and cares for their needs.

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

(Raymond Chapman in Leading Intercessions p94 and David Hostetter in Prayers for the Season of God’s People Year C p55 & 56)

  We pray for the work of The Leprosy Mission in Nigeria, that their work will lead to an increase in the understanding of this disease and the strength to tackle the stigma associated with it in the local communities. 

  We pray for the Green Worship scheme, that it will be supported as an education project for children in leprosy-affected communities through TLMN.  We pray for your blessings on the children and the leadership of Green Worship.

  We pray that you will continue to protect the staff of The Leprosy Mission in Nigeria given the serious problem of social, political, cultural and religious insecurity in Nigeria.

(2022 Leprosy Mission Prayer Diary)

  We pray for the peoples of Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, thanking you for the quality of life that many in these countries enjoy and their commitment to provide for those in the world who are in need.  We thank you for the organizations located here that seek to increase ecumenical and interfaith understanding and work together for the common good of all people and creation.  We thank you for political and economic transparency in these countries, and for those who reach out to migrants and counter attitudes and practices that oppose them.

  We pray for environmental practices that preserve the natural environment, especially the Alps’ melting glaciers.  We pray for the work for justice, reconciliation and peace pursued by the people and organizations here, seeking to shape globalization so that it benefits all.  We pray for religious freedom, also for those from non-Christian traditions, for the overcoming of the fear of, and welcoming the embrace of, those who are outsiders to the countries’ historic, ethnic traditions.

  A Prayer for Austria
Lord,
we thank you for this land in which we live,
its mountains, its valleys,
its meadows, its gardens,
its forests, its lakes.
May no blindness destroy the work of your hands.

Lord,
may the houses that we build,
our towns and cities,
be places of hope and peace.
May no hardness of heart close our doors in the face of people in need.

Lord,
may our workplaces be places where we trust one another,
where people and their work count for something.
May no discouragement hold us back from responsibly shaping the future.

Lord,
may the streets of our land be ways that bring people to meet one another.
May no fears or prejudices separate us from those near and far.

Lord,
may the churches of our land be holy places,
where we hear your Word,
call one another by name,
and your name is hallowed.

Lord,
watch over our land,
and bless its inhabitants.
Amen.  

(A prayer of the Austrian Community of Monastic Orders, together with other church bodies, to mark the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the international treaty at the end of the Second World War.)
(http://www.kamillianer.at/archiv/geb_oest.htm)

Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)

  We pray for the displaced peoples of Afghanistan, uprooted from their homes and villages by two decades of internal conflict, many living where they can in parks and open areas, many others living as refugees in one of the surrounding nations.  We pray for the immediate supply of adequate shelter and clothing and for reliable sources of water and food.  We pray for peace in the land so that families can return to their homes and their livelihoods.

  We pray for the displaced peoples of Ethiopia, uprooted from their homes and villages by the recent inter-regional violence and conflict.  We, too, pray for the immediate supply of adequate shelter and clothing and for reliable sources of water and food.  We, too, pray for peace in the land so that families can return to their homes and their livelihoods.

  We pray for the communities on the islands of the Nation of Tonga that have been severely affected by the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami.  We pray especially for those with disabilities, the sick and the elderly, who were already dependant upon the care from family members.  We thank you for the international response to the call for aid, and pray for a rapid distribution of aid material for people to rebuild their homes, for communities to restore adequate supplies of fresh, untainted water, and for communities to rebuild their business and replant their crops.

(www.actforpeace.org.au)

  We pray for those providing Religious Instruction at Bald Hills State School, that you will encourage them as they begin to lead their classes in the coming weeks, and that they will feel supported by the class teachers.  May the Holy Spirit work in the hearts and minds of the children in these classes, that they will come to an understanding of the truths of the Gospel and respond to the message of your love and grace for them.

  We ask that they may feel your close presence with them each day, that they will experience your support and encouragement as they journey through life in this time of uncertainty and change.

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

The 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.