Evening Prayer Friday, 6 November 2020

Good evening, everyone.
Perhaps you had been looking forward to seeing a firework display at this time of year. Perhaps not.
Fireworks are not the only things which some people assume that everyone will enjoy,
without stopping to consider that there may be some people for whom the beauty of the display is tainted by more negative feelings.
So, this evening, I thought we might use some pictures of beautiful, still fireworks which can’t harm any of us
to prompt our thinking about those we wish to include in our prayers.

Gracious God, we feel so small when we look to you and to all that you have made and have achieved in our lives and in the lives of others.
Your love is so great and all-encompassing that we know you love us as much as anyone else –
yet we do not feel we have deserved that love.
Thank you that each of us is special to you and that we can rely on your love and support day by day,
wherever we are and whatever we do.
We pray that we may strive to deserve that love,
by sharing it with all those we meet in our daily lives.

Through our lives and by our prayers,
Your Kingdom come.

When there is a clear sky for us to see, we can gaze in wonder at the moon and stars in all their beauty.
We realise they are farther away than we can ever travel, even in normal times.
At any time of day, some people in the world can be looking at the night sky.
They too are far away from us, but connected to us through our humanity and your call to us to care for one another.
And so we pray for others we have never met, but who need our prayers tonight.

Loving God, we pray people for throughout the world who are anxious about the future,
whether this is because of shortage of food, illness, separation from or loss of family or friends, or concern about political unrest.
When we listen to the news our hearts cry out to those who suffer.
We pray that you will be close to them and that they will feel your comforting presence.
At present, we sometimes feel that there is little we can do to support others,
so we pray that you will open our eyes to see the opportunities which come our way
and focus our minds to continue your work in every way we can.

Through our lives and by our prayers,
Your Kingdom come.

Although they live closer to us, many of us have not been able to see our friends from church for many months,
and now we are all back in lockdown and separated again.
So we pray especially now for all those who worship at Christ the Cornerstone.

Loving God, we want to come together at this time, as we can twice each day through our daily prayers.
We pray now for one another, that each of us may know we are not alone.
We pray for our children and young people.
We pray that they may grow closer to you and learn more of you, within their families.
We ask that they may know they have not been forgotten
and that we are continuing to pray for them, although we cannot meet them.
We pray for parents, who had to juggle work and caring responsibilities.
We pray that they have also found rich rewards from spending more time with their children.

We pray for members of our congregation who are older,
those who have been ill and those who are lonely.
Help us all to find ways to keep in touch,
to ensure that nobody feels neglected or forgotten.

Through our lives and by our prayers,
Your Kingdom come.

I love looking at fireworks and have always enjoyed a display.
But there are two things about them which sadden me.
The first relates to us focusing our celebration on a time when the Christian Church was so divided.
So we must turn this round and take the opportunity to thank God for our friends of all denominations.
It is a joy that we share our building with our Roman Catholic friends
and that they work with us as volunteers in our church building.
But when this is all over, perhaps we should be trying to get back to spending more time together –
more shared worship and more shared events.
How can we really know one another when we see spend so little time together?

My other sadness related to 5 November is for those who suffer every year
because they have memories of injuries caused to them or to friends or family members.

And so we pray:

Loving God, we thank you that we are able to witness as one church in the centre of Milton Keynes.
We thank you for one another and pray that, in the future, we will find opportunities to work together,
to pray together, to study together and to really live as one body of Christ.
Do not let us become disheartened, but inspire us to work towards common goals,
so that our energy may be used to help your Kingdom to grow.

Through our lives and by our prayers,
Your Kingdom come.

During this strange time, when our lives have been turned upside down
and so many of us have had to restrict our activities,
we are especially grateful for our church leaders and for those who look after our building.

So, as we come to the end of another week, we ask that you will bless Revd. George, Revd. Ernesto and the Roman Catholic clergy.
May they continue to guide and support us all in this difficult time.
May they know that they are in our prayers and that their work for us is appreciated.
We thank you too for Simon and Woody, who continue to look after our church building for us,
and for staff and volunteers who have been working in the Café and Reception over the last few weeks.
So often, if we just come to church on a Sunday,
we forget how much work goes in to keeping our building safe, clean and in good order.
We pray that they will know they are appreciated and feel valued by us.

Through our lives and by our prayers,
Your Kingdom come.

Now, at the end of another week, we close our prayer time this evening, 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

May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all, evermore.

Amen