Morning Prayer Friday, 10 September 2021
Good morning to you all, God’s people, as this Friday morning brightens away from the sleepy darkness of restful night.
Let us praise God together in this new day’s light.
Thanks to you, O Lord our Preserver, who sustains our lives through the changing seasons of life and light.
Through youthful spring and the soft light of April, through the slower days of autumn and colourful September.
Stay with us today, whatever we may be called upon to do or say, so that in this light we may be your light to everyone around us.
Amen
It has been a week of new, almost normal, returnings:
I’ve attended a real meeting around a real table;
children have gone back to school;
office workers are coming back to CMK into re-formed spaces
and even the morning traffic noise is noticeable again!
The pandemic has been pushed deeper into the news, lower down the headline scale.
Has familiarity rekindled the ability to ignore what we no longer see
or is our city rushing to enjoy this relative freedom while we can before sickness rises and we are once again forced apart?
Can we build up our community into people who are dedicated to care, to demonstrating love, to easing sadness with light?
Can we be both cautious and bold? Hear some words from the Epistle of John:
God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. This is Christ’s message to us all, which we declare (1 John 1:5).
Dear Friends, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. I was glad to hear about your faithfulness to the truth, with people telling me of your journey. Dear Friends, you are faithful in what you are doing for brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have talked about your love so please send them on their way in a manner that honours God. Those pilgrims set out in the name of God without help so we should show them hospitality and demonstrate that we are able to work together for the truth.
3 John 1:2–6.
God of Light, today we remember schools, colleges and anywhere that gives nurture and learning.
Bless the students’ joy in reunion. Bless the participants with curiosity and dedication as they follow the light.
Lord God, preserve and protect them.
God of Light, today we hold up to you the people of Afghanistan, regardless of where in the world they may be. Bless them in their terror and grant them relief. Open our hearts to welcome refugees and new citizens, to hold up the leading light for them, to offer them a place to sit and rest in safety, to offer them a home.
Lord God, preserve and protect them.
God of Light, today we ask your blessing on our caring fellowship as we emerge from life lived on Zoom
or friendships maintained through plate glass windows.
Help us re-learn how to share your love-light, how to listen to stories, how to embrace the people who are without hope, living in lonely darkness.
Help us come closer to each other, closer together, in all that honours God. Keep us faithful.
Lord God, preserve and protect us.
And now may we be clothed today in the blessing of God as we go out into the world. May his love surround us as a cloak that shows off his glory. May his grace infuse our every action. In the name of Christ, God’s own light, we make our prayers today.
Amen
Cheryl Montgomery
