Virtual Prayer Group – next meeting is on Monday July 12th at 11 a.m. – there will be a Prayer Time via the Zoom platform. It will be for 30 mins. An invitation will be sent out in advance. Our thanks to Margaret Tracey who leads this time to Be Still.
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,
‘Be still and know that I am God’
A Prayer for uncertain times Revd Nigel Uden and Derek Estill
As so much is re-shaped by Coronavirus Covid 19, let us pray with
people left unwell, beckoned by death or bereaved;
people providing professional health care and advice, looking after loved ones at home or working to create treatments and cures;
people shaping the response of nations and neighbourhoods, of commerce and industry, of service and voluntary organisations and of communities of faith;
people who are anxious or afraid, alone or isolated.
Living, loving God,
we praise you,
and through times of peril we lean into you,
for in Jesus Christ
you have trodden paths as difficult as ours,
revealing there a love that nothing defeats,
a love that bears us through.
Even as we strive to behave responsibly,
and to care reliably,
so we feel after you
that in these uncertain times we might trust you are with us,
our refuge and strength,
and our faith, hope and love might be renewed,
through Jesus Christ, Amen.
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
