Evening Prayer Friday, 16 October 2020

I found this idea on the Methodist Church website.
If you take three strands of wool or fibre, each one a different colour, then plait them slowly and thoughtfully,
you can use them as a stimulus for your prayers
The idea is to think of one colour representing God, one colour other people and one yourself.
What appealed to me was the idea of the three being interwoven.
We do not address God first, then turn our focus to others and our concerns for them,
then humbly bring our personal concerns to God.
God knows all our concerns and listens to us, even when we don’t think we are addressing Him.

So, let us pray:

Loving God, you are at the centre, and the world and all that is in it belong to you.

We thank you for your love and concern, which expands to include everyone, wherever they are,
whether they acknowledge you, or not; whether they please you, or not; whether they work for your kingdom, or not.
We cannot escape your love, which surrounds us, comforts us, and reassures us.
We thank you for your presence, your guidance and your inspiration.
Give us the grace to listen for your voice, to reflect on your word to us and to respond to your call.

Even in these strange times, when many of us have had to adapt our lifestyle
and some may really miss the people and activities they used to engage with,
there are new things to learn, new ways to communicate and many of us have experienced new challenges and joys.

Woven together by our common experience of Christ the Cornerstone,
held in the hollow of your hand help, draw us together, to experience a closeness with one another, as well as with you.

We pray for members of our congregation who have been ill or bereaved during this time,
that they may still have felt the concern and love of friends from church.
We pray especially for those who don’t have access to appropriate technology to feel connected to the church.
We thank you for the ministers and members who have been making a point of using the telephone,
as well as the WhatsApp group, to try to reach as many members as possible.
So, we pray for any who live alone, that they have found companionship in new and different ways.

We pray for those who do live with others, but who have found it difficult
spending so much time in close proximity with other members of their household.
We pray that they may also have found out more about one another and been drawn closer together.

We pray for those who have struggled to find much that is positive in their new situation.
May others be drawn to them, who may be able to restore their confidence and help them find hope for the future.

During this time, some may have found it more difficult to think of Cornerstone as a community.
We pray that we might discern who those people are who need our support and be drawn to make contact with them.
We thank you for the dedication of those who keep our building open – both staff and volunteers.

Just as this loaf of bread is plaited with more than three strands, may we always be seeking to include new members in all that we do,
that they may feel included and have the chance to enrich our society.

We pray that we may continue to be an outward-looking church, willing to share all we have with those who visit and others who live in Milton Keynes.
We pray for all those involved with the leadership of the church, that they may look to the future with creativity and imagination
and listen to your voice, prompting us to continue to develop new ways to live the Gospel and share it with the people of Milton Keynes.

And so, as we come to the end of another week, we ask you to keep us safe,
prompt us to discern the ways in which you want us to serve you, so that all may learn to love and follow you.

We ask our prayers in and through the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Amen

Let us finish our evening prayers by saying the Lord’s prayer together:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

Rosemary Kearsey