Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
18 – 25th January 2021
If you would like to take part in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Karen has adapted some of the resources available through CTBI. There are 3 separate vigils for you to join on the web site below or on YouTube, which have common elements to them as well as new prayers, readings and actions each time. You may want to view these on 3 separate occasions or move from one to the next. Each is a maximum of 10 minutes in length.
You will need: a large candle, a heart shaped piece of paper or card, a pen, a tea light & matches
The transcripts & the YouTube links for the Vigils are available on our channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe8ifa_rt8OkCse-tAZJe0w or here:
Vigil 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHx74GvzRdM&feature=youtu.be
Vigil 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qv_G5ourkw&feature=youtu.be
Vigil 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXbNKtfUQAc&feature=youtu.be
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity gives us the opportunity to pray each day of this particular week sharing in common forms of prayer. These are available for each day below:
Day 1: Monday 18th January ‘Called by God’
Day 2: Tuesday 19th January – ‘Maturing internally’
Day 3: Wednesday January 20th – ‘Forming one body’
Day 4: Thursday January 21st – ‘Praying together’
Day 5: Friday January 22nd – ‘Letting oneself be transformed by the Word’
Day 6: Saturday January 23rd – ‘Welcoming Others’
Day 7: Sunday January 24th – ‘Growing in Unity’
Day 8: Monday January 25th – ‘Reconciling with all of creation’
https://ctbi.org.uk/go-and-do-week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2021/
Meditative Prayer Colouring – The URC have produced some Biblical designs for people who like meditative colouring. Designer Samara Andrews (who works for the URC in the Church Related Community Work team) has created some Bible verses to download and colour in. Visit www.urc.org.uk/coronavirus to download or print templates,
Virtual Prayer Group – next meeting is on Monday February 8th at 2 pm – there will be a Prayer Time via the Zoom platform. It will be for 30 mins. An invitation will be sent out in advance.
A Prayer of concern in response to the Covid19 pandemic
Written by Ana Gobledale
Eternal God, we turn to you knowing you are the source of the living water for which we thirst.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for those, like the woman by the well, confronted by their own reality and being invited to step boldly into the unknown. May they know your direction as they set out on new paths.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for those who are isolated in their homes. For those whose jobs and livelihood are affected, for those who feel afraid about their future. May they know your hope as they travel through darkness.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for those who are ill and those whose relationships are strained. May they know your healing as they pass through pain.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for those who are nearing the end of their earthly life. May they know your peace as they tread their final steps. And we pray for the families of those who have succumbed to the Corona virus.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for our church and for all who are worshipping around the world today. We pray for those whose church doors are closed today, like the people of Kirkland, Washington, and Italy, that they might connect with one another and you through prayer and song. We give thanks that technology can help some people in isolation stay connected.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
This Lent, we, too, feel like we are wandering in the wilderness. Protect us from temptation. May every person sense your presence as we journey through these unknown and sometimes frightening experiences. May we remain calm and act responsibly, under your guiding hand.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for nations finding their path through this complicated and challenging period. May leaders know your wisdom as they discern the way ahead.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
We pray for one another and everyone on our hearts, beloved and stranger. May we know your love every step and every day. May we drink deeply of the water of life you offer, so that our nourishment and strength come from you.
Living water, In faith, we lift our prayer to you.
These are the prayers of your faithful people. Amen
Currently suspended due to the Covid19 pandemic – Prayer and Blessing services ... Monthly prayer and blessing services are normally held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 2.30pm in church, but not during the current pandemic period. This is a quiet reflective service, where we pray to God with our concerns for the world we live in, and then rest in the presence of God. There an opportunity for anointing at the end of the service.
‘Be still and know that I am God’
Pastoral care
Pastoral care is very important in the life of a United Reformed Church member. Showing our love and care for each other and our neighbour is part of our service to God. We have a Pastoral Care Coordinator who works with Church members and adherents so the church can care for one another and keep everyone in regular contact with one another.
What is Prayer ?
‘Prayer is personal, Prayer is private
Prayer is secret, Prayer is silent’
Yet when believers meet together…
‘Prayer is corporate, Prayer is public
Prayer is shared, Prayer is spoken’
Prayer can be a paradox.
On the one hand, prayer is personal, private and silent; yet every week when we come to worship, prayer becomes a public event. There are times in our Prayer life when words are just not appropriate… only silence touches the deepest prayer need.
Stopping… and being silent can enrich our corporate prayer life, as well as keeping it personal.There are particular prayers which lend themselves to short periods of silence.
Firstly, Prayers of Confession, when we can personally and silently tell God about our sin, selfishness towards others, and our self centredness.
Secondly, Prayers of Intercession, when we can privately pray to God about people we personally know and global situations we are concerned about.
Make the most of these silences, not just in worship, but in the comings and goings of life’s activities. Through prayer we meet God everywhere and in all people; therefore our thoughts, words and actions are a constant prayer to God. However, remember the silence: for it is in the silence tht we utter the unspoken words and touch God with the emotions of our hearts.
Prayers from our Minister
Lord of the seeds,
Blow your seeds of Love and Hope,
Whirl them around by your Holy Spirit
And as the seeds land, bless them
And bless those who will pick them up.
Amen
God
Forgive me for the relationships I have spoiled,
That have brought about hurt and sadness,
Forgive me from the collusions I have participated in
That have brought about vindictiveness and prejudice,
Forgive me for the pollution I have contributed to within your world
That has caused injustice and climate change.
Lord, by your grace
We are restored, healed and a new creation.
By your Son, who lived died and rose again,
We are disciples who strive to walk out as the mundane
and clothe ourselves with mercy,
By your Spirit, who is the intermediary to your Grace,
We are empowered and live in the life and light of your Love.
Amen
Songs that wing heavenwards
Are placed before God.
Then God takes our songs and listens to all of them.
Some painful, others joyous,
Some mourning, others in serenity.
Lord, listen to our songs and bless them.
Let your healing Spirit
guide us into singing new songs
to refresh, to energize and to restore.
Amen
God who sends angels to care for us
We thank you for the many times
small gestures of compassion and kindness
have meant so much to us.
The smile of acceptance,
The gentle touch of reassurance,
The phone call at the ‘right’ time.
Lord we pray,
Even though we may not immediately
recognise your angels,
Enable us to be alert to their presence,
And may you use us to be angels to others.
Amen
Glorious God
Our bodies have been changed
over the years through disease and injury,
Yet you choose to lovingly dwell within us.
Help us to love our bodies that tell the story of the life we have lived,
To sense the delight you have
when we discover new experiences;
And when our Bodies give up on us,
Journey with us
until we become a new creation.
Amen
As the day draws to the night,
I thank you God for the many experiences of today,
the people I have met and
the conversations I have had.
I thank you that yet again
You have shown me your presence,
for you bring hope into a world full of insecurities,
for you bring peace where conflict and challenge prevail.
Lord, bless those who have journeyed with me this day,
those who have laughed with me,
those who have cried with me,
those who have listened to me,
those who have just been happy to be in my presence.
Keep me safe in the stillness of this night.
May you also keep all those who are dear to me secure.
May I rest in your presence while I slumber.
May your angels guard me till I wake.
Amen
