Assembly 2002 Prayers

Prayers for General Assembly 2002

Friday am opening

In the noise when people were shouting, the radio blaring and the construction workers digging holes you were there calm and quiet the whispering voice.

The voice that spoke of the value of people.
The voice that put things into a different perspective.
The voice that said peace when all outside said noise

In the rush and pandemonium of the day the phone ringing, the fax spewing out paper and the photocopier refusing to work. You were there.

You were there in the moment of inspiration
The kindness of a stranger
The task completed well and the ability to do it and the pause before we moved on to the next thing.

Praise to you living God for being around us. Covering each of us. In all we meet, in all we do, in all we try to do.

Thanks for your calm if we would listen, your perspective if we would give it the time it is due.

Your affirmation if we could accept it.

Forgive us for those times when we have behaved as spoilt children insisting that you should love us more than others
Insisting that we know the way as we march off in the wrong direction
Demanding that we are told the truth in voices so strident that we cannot hear you.
Forgive us

Jesus has come to give us life in all its fullness our sins are forgiven for his sake.

Amen

Intercessions

It is Friday morning and people are getting ready to drop the suits and the work clothes and put on their glad rags. Just one more day to get through till the weekend

For those who hate their work. Find them unfulfilling, needing the money. Those who work in dangerous and dirty conditions. Doing jobs that none else would do.

It is Friday morning and people are getting ready to drop the suits and the work clothes and put on their glad rags. Just one more day to get through

For those whose work is their life. Those who dread time at home with their families. Those who do not know how to spend time off.

It is Friday morning and some people might be getting ready to relax but for others it makes no difference.
Those who work shifts, those who box and cox with the child care so one works now that the weekend is here because they need the money
Those who have no work. Those who search for it and get no return from their searching.
Those who are not paid for their work and are left feeling they are outside the world of work and yet find they have not worked harder, retired folk, parents at home fulltime with their children.

Be the pace setter. Be the calm of still water and rest to the rushing

Some of us only work one day a week.
Each of us, we pray for ourselves.
Pace us, call us on and let us know that you are with us in the dark places and the light ones too.

In Jesus name

Saturday Morning

Opening Prayer

Let us be aware that we are here together

The feel of the seat on your legs and back

The feel of the floor.

The smell of this place

The sounds around us.

Let us be aware of all the noise that there is, especially in our heads. This is not wrong, some of these things have to be looked at. Is now the time. Let them go. They will be back.

Here and now we are with you Holy God.
Glad to have the time and the liberty that we can gather to worship. We are not like others who need to earn money on this day. We are not like others defending their homes. We are not like those who will have to spend today bringing the water home. We are not like others who have no freedom to worship, nor any desire, here we are

Praise to you
Forgive us that we easily take things for granted.
Forgive us that we can be spiritual slobs not prepared to move from the sofa of what is comfortable.
Forgive us and set us free to serve you

The Lord Jesus has come to forgive us and to welcome us home.
Let us accept our forgiveness and rejoice.
Amen

Intercession and Commitment Prayer

The Lord said I call you and the response was silence and the TV turned up.
We pray for those who refuse to hear the whisper of God moving them to action

The Lord says you I mean you and the response was, ‘of course you mean me I can do it all’
We pray for leaders with a false sense of their own abilities. May they rely on you to guide, give them wisdom and then may they move to action

The Lord says come lets go and the response was, ‘it’s raining and the people in the Church are not worth it’
Lord we do not want to do things out of duty but out of love, yet easily love is reduced to being no more than sentimentality
For those who have a difficult task where people do not want to receive their contribution
For those who are lazy, those who are over working but busy doing other people’s jobs.

The Lord says now
We say
We do

© Lesley Charlton 2002