Morning Prayer Friday, 3 July 2020
On this first Friday morning of the new month, let us raise our eyes and drink deeply of God’s new day.
O Lord your glory is revealed in the morning.
From the first glint of light on the pink-tinged hydrangea
to the gentle whisper of the rising breeze as it stirs the stately bamboo.
The birds rejoice in the fresh dew and the wet grass stands to your attention.
My universe is currently confined to the view from a window not far from my nose,
yet I revel in your morning glory, O lord, my redeemer.
The stillness of the early day, before life’s busyness takes over, this is when I feel closest to God,
when I can bathe in the slowly expanding light.
Let us begin this day in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
I apologise in advance for the many small, important things I will forget to do today:
The nod to a neighbour instead of a kindly word,
the postcard unwritten and unsent,
the cup of water I could have offered to the thirsting soul.
Help me improve today so I remember not to neglect the small kindnesses flowing from you to me to others.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
I’m holding up to you the frightened people of Leicester whose lockdown journey is beginning again.
Give them patience and a double measure of hope.
We know that behind the statistics the pandemic unfolds one human being at a time.
I will approach the newly allowed expansion of my tiny universe with caution
as demanded by your care for me and mine and for my neighbours.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
After a month of drought, the rain has washed down the dust to reveal again the beauty that is Milton Keynes.
I give thanks for the women and men from around the world and right next door
who planned and designed, planted and nurtured a city in full knowledge that they would see none of it to maturity –
what an exercise in the certainty of hope!
Building on that certainty, I pray that we may be a city known for its neighbourliness, its care for each and for all,
a place where the God of majesty and love has made a home.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
I ask you to watch over everyone going to work or to school today.
Their world may be a dangerous and scary place
so help them feel safe – safe enough – as they go about their tasks and learning.
Guide the leaders of Cornerstone to make good plans for the time when we can meet together again.
O Lord, hear my prayer.
I hear the rising noise and bustle of the day.
As I step out to meet the world I pray that you, the God of Love,
will protect us all today in our diversity and bring us safely to this evening’s sunset.
In the name of Christ who died and rose again we pray.
Amen
