Evening Prayer Friday, 9 July 2021

Good evening, everyone.  Welcome to our prayer time this evening.

We are going to begin by listening to a hymn written by Fred Pratt Green – ‘God, in his love for us, lent us this planet.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4AeZoZatu8

God in his love for us lent us this planet,
gave it a purpose in time and in space:
small as a spark form the fire of creation,
cradle of life and the home of our race.

Thanks be to God for its bounty and beauty,
life that sustains us in body and mind:
plenty for all, if we learn how to share it,
riches undreamed of to fathom and find.

Long have our human wars ruined its harvest;
long has earth bowed to the terror of force;
long have we wasted what others have need of,
poisoned the fountain of life at its source.

Earth is the Lord’s: it is ours to enjoy it,
ours, as his stewards, to farm and defend.
From its pollution, misuse, and destruction,
good Lord, deliver us, world without end.

So we have sung about God’s generosity in giving us all that we have.
We remember that Psalm 24 reminds us that ‘the earth is the Lord’s’.
We are simply stewards of that land and have a responsibility to care for it and make it productive.

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Saviour.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty –
he is the King of glory.

Psalm 24

Loving God, we are amazed at the wonder of your creation, and we thank you for all that you have provided for us.  But we are conscious that, while we do not have to struggle to feed ourselves, there are people in other countries who would be grateful to feed on the food which is wasted in our country.  Forgive us for our part in this waste of resources.  Prompt us to be careful not to buy more than we need and to do our part to support people in those parts of the world where famine and drought are still everyday occurrences.

Christian Aid reminds us that the Covid 19 epidemic, together with the climate crisis and conflict in many parts of the world, has plunged the world into a global hunger emergency.  Consequently, people in countries including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Burkina Faso are facing the very real threat of starvation.

And so, we pray for those throughout the world who will go to sleep on empty stomachs.
For those who go without themselves, in order to have enough to feed their children.
For those who still have to ration water, and who do not have safe, clean water to drink.
May we play our part in helping to change this situation, so that all your children can flourish and lead productive and fulfilling lives.

And now, a prayer from Christian Aid:

When Famine stalks the land, nothing grows.
Plants cannot, people cannot, ideas and dreams cannot –
everything withers and dies.

It is a violent aberration of your will for the world
and it is multiplying now
by conflict, climate change and COVID.

God of the flourishing field, there is enough to feed us all.
Call us to that sacred sharing –
neighbour to global neighbour –
your gifts of food, water,
a chance to live the life so delicately crafted
by your divine spirit.

We will not turn away but turn towards each other
with generosity and a justice-driven compassion
that searches for solutions.

Famine stalks the land, so may our outrage grow,
may our determination steel itself,
may our solidarity spur us into action.
God of the flourishing field,
help us feed each other.

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

I wish you all a very good night.

Rosemary Kearsey