Live stream on Facebook at 10:00
Prayers for w/b 29th March
Give thanks with a grateful heart
For all the ways we have been able to stay connected, or deepen our connections during this time of lockdown
For the NHS, and all those front line responders in so many key areas, from retail to local and national government, churches, many voluntary agencies and volunteers
For time to reflect and to change our pace of life
For an opportunity to develop relationships across old boundaries
Sunday Service 29 March 2020
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Our global community, especially for the USA, Iran, Italy and Spain at the sharpest end of the coronavirus at the moment
For our country and county, for perseverance and discipline in maintaining distance, for peace on our streets and in our homes.
For those in our community with underlying conditions making them vulnerable to infection: Stuart Charnock, Pat Storr, Sylvia, June, Joan Baz, Sohail and many others.
For all those self isolating and suffering with the virus at the moment, especially the critically ill
Sohail, Kehinde and Ivo and others self isolating with symptoms
For all our elders staying at home, managing with food and other practicalities and staying connected
For all who have died and those they have left behind.
For rapid developments in antibody testing and developing vaccines
For the people of Africa, that they may continue to be shielded from the virus
For the people of Iran, and our Iranian brothers and sisters worrying about their families
For all those worried about work, business, having enough money
For help for all of us in finding creative ways to connect
For the grace to make prayer the centre of our response, rather than action or panic
We pray for:
A prayer from St Martin in the Fields
God of searching and knowing,
your people Israel faced famine and wilderness,
and your church has known persecution and hardship.
Be close to all your children in this time of bewilderment and fear.
Make this time of cessation and isolation
one in which your Spirit reveals new ways to be together,
fresh discoveries in worship, different gestures of care,
and innovative forms of compassion.
Encourage the vulnerable, comfort the impoverished,
inspire the anxious and give wisdom to those who govern.
Lift up our hearts that we may see
the abundance of what is still beautiful and true,
not be captivated by what is lost and absent,
and find new gifts in ourselves and one another.
In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ,
who knew what it meant to be alone. Amen