Evening Prayer Friday, 28 August 2020

Good evening, friends.
Welcome to our Friday evening prayer time.

Those of you who use the prayers on WhatsApp may find these pictures familiar.
Unfortunately, I sent out the wrong file last week, which had the beginnings of a draft for this Friday.
Thanks to Robin, who noticed this, so it could be changed on the website,
and to Ian, who posted the correct WhatsApp version for me.
What would we do without our friends?

Of course, we all recognise these familiar pictures, just as we recognise the familiar face of a friend.
This place is important to all of us, and some will return for worship there very soon.
I selected these photos, because I thought that each of us would find at least one would remind us
of what we see as we arrive at church in normal times.
I’d like us to focus on those ‘normal times’ at the beginning of our prayer time this evening.

And so, we pray:
Loving God, we thank you for our church.
These pictures remind us of the place where we usually meet for worship, which underpins our fellowship.
We are grateful that, as your Church, we have continued to meet while the building was closed,
but we miss being in our Worship Area and we miss one another.

We thank you that these daily prayer times have drawn some of us closer to each other as well as to you.
We thank you for the chance to establish new routines –
less crowded diaries for some of us,
with more chance to reflect and experience your love at a deeper level.

We pray for those who have felt isolated, frustrated or despairing,
afraid of losing touch with people who are important to them;
frightened of the prospect of being with others,
but longing for the fellowship which they used to find at Cornerstone.
We pray that they may find comfort in your word
and companionship at some level through phone calls and other indirect contacts.

We thank you that, while our church was closed,
the cross on the dome still stood out as a witness to the people of Milton Keynes.
We pray for those people who have come there over the years and found what they needed –
a form of worship which brought them closer to you,
a friendly welcoming face and listening ear, a spiritual blessing
or access to the Food Bank or other support services.
We pray for people experiencing these needs at present.
We want to be able to serve them, and so we ask that you will guide those in our church with responsibility, that they may be able to make appropriate arrangements for some of these services to resume, while continuing to  provide for people who are unable to revert to their usual routines.

As we widen our view from our own church building,
we pray for all those who work to keep open shops and other commercial enterprises
in the Centre:MK and Midsummer Place,
allowing life to return to something like normal for many folk in the City.
We pray for those who work in the shops,
that they will be provided with appropriate protection,
as they engage with the general public.

We are blessed in Milton Keynes to be surrounded by wonderful open spaces.
We thank you for people who work to keep Campbell Park and the gardens behind our church
looking bright and colourful – lifting the spirits of people as they pass.
We pray that all who call in to our building will still find a welcome,
although, at present, we cannot offer all we have in the past.

We pray that you will guide us to find the best way forward
to maintain and develop our mission in Milton Keynes,
bringing the Good News of the Gospel to all who come through our doors.

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

Amen

Please click the link below to round off our time together with a hymn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ZY_AkVGPA.