Morning Prayer Friday, 8 October 2021
Hello everyone.
Welcome to our Friday prayers.
Today, I am going to begin our prayer time together with a reading from The Psalms – Psalm 8. This Psalm seems particularly appropriate to read at this time of year, though, of course, we can be aware of God’s majesty and grandeur at any time.
1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic
is your name throughout the earth!
You made your glory higher than heaven!
2 From the mouths of nursing babies
you have laid a strong foundation
because of your foes,
in order to stop vengeful enemies.
3 When I look up at your skies,
at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars
that you set firmly in place—
4 what are human beings
that you think about them;
what are human beings
that you pay attention to them?
5 You’ve made them only slightly less than divine,
crowning them with glory and grandeur.
6 You’ve let them rule over your handiwork,
putting everything under their feet—
7 all sheep and all cattle,
the wild animals too,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish of the ocean,
everything that travels the pathways of the sea.
9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 8, Common English Bible
Last Sunday, we celebrated Harvest – a special opportunity to thank God for his generosity to us. In recent days some shelves in the shops have been empty, awaiting deliveries. Few of us can imagine what it must be like never to know when food will next be available, and when having favourite food is an unknown concept, because just having food regularly is an unexpected blessing.
So, prompted by this Harvest celebration, as people who can satisfy our hunger by crossing to a shop and choosing from a wide range of produce, we pray for all who work in the food industry, on land or at sea. We ask you to keep them safe and to know that the role they play is valued.
We thank you for those who process, distribute and sell or deliver our food. When we are disappointed to find an empty shelf because something we had hoped to buy is unavailable, remind us that other people may be glad just to know that they have something to eat.
We pray for people everywhere who do not have enough to eat day by day; for those who have experienced crop failures or where an unpredictable climate means they can never be sure of a good harvest year on year.
We pray for everyone who is hungry and does not know when they will eat next or where their next meal will come from, and those for whose suffering is exacerbated by watching their friends and family in distress.
We pray for those who work for aid agencies which aim to bring relief to hungry people and to offer them a glimmer of hope for the future.
Loving God, help us to be thoughtful and to act responsibly in the way we buy and prepare our food. Teach us not to be wasteful and to remember that all we have comes from you and that it is our responsibility to share with those who need it most.
And now, a harvest hymn which expresses our gratitude and encourages us to share God’s gifts.
For the fruits of all creation (Hymn) – Bing video
For the fruit of all creation,
thanks be to God.
gifts bestowed on every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safekeeping,
thanks be to God.
In the just reward of labour,
God’s will is done.
In the help we give our neighbour,
God’s will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God’s will is done.
For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.
And now let’s finish today’s prayer time by saying the Grace together:
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
Rosemary Kearsey
