Prayers

Gathering prayer   (12 September 2021)

O Holy one, as one and as three,
  shield us and save us;
  possess us and aid us,
  clear our path;
  go before us each step of the stormy world.

 O God of the new day, and God of love,
  as the bright light of the morning,
  brings depth and colour to our harbour and hills,
  banish the darkness from our hearts and minds.

 Help us to know and to believe,
  that as the children of your love,
  you are with us,
  and that we are free to begin again,
  in Jesus’ name                

Amen.

A children’s Lord’s Prayer:

… (brought to us recently by Lionel Nunns)

Our Father in heaven, you are awesome!
Show us who you are and how you want us to be.
Make earth more like heaven.
Please give us what we need to keep going each day.
Help us when we are wrong and clean us up on the inside.
Help us to let other people off, and move on.
Keep us from bad stuff.
You’re in charge!
You’re strong and powerful and always there. Forever!
Amen

2020
Benediction from 30/8/20:

May the mystery of God beckon us;

May the wisdom of God direct us;

May the forgiveness of God heal us;

May the energy of God send us into the world

and be a blessing to those we touch.

Amen

2017 

God of promise, persist in opening our hearts and minds to your presence among us.
Send your Spirit to increase our faith and our delight in your surprising ways.
Help us to seek your presence continually.
Gracious God, we have come to worship today with all of who we are.
Some of us come feeling uncertain about the relationships we have with one another.
We give thanks that we can trust in our relationship with you.
Some of us come thinking of past hurts, betrayals and broken promises in our lives.
We give thanks that we can trust you will never break your promises with us.
Some of us come joy-filled, hopeful and ready to celebrate.
We give thanks that you journey with us in our moment of joy.
Some of us come reflecting on struggles, sorrows and dreams.
We give thanks that you accompany us in our struggles.
We come with different feelings, different thoughts, different joys, different, struggles and many uncertainties. And yet we have all come to this place at this time.

(a time for silent reflection and prayer)

For all of these prayers both spoken and unspoken, we give thanks.

Gracious God, we are people of good intentions. We have good intentions to love one another; good intentions to be an authentic community together, to honour our words and promises, and to always honour you. We confess that we have not always lived up to our good intentions. We are broken peoples, and we have broken promises. Forgive us, dear God, for the ways in which we have failed one another, and the ways in which we have failed you. Amen.

Hear the good news: God forgives us again and again. We have second chances, and third chances, and fourth chances – to keep trying to get it right – and to live up to our good intentions. Even though we sometimes fail God, God never fails us; God always keeps God's promises to be faithful. Thanks be to God.

God helps us in our weakness, even when words for prayer escape us.

We trust in the power of God's love to bring good. Praise be to God. 

This lovely prayer was used at St Ronan’s recently by Rev Doug Rogers. (From Prayers for All Seasons ed Ellen Turnball)

2016

Benediction from 6/11/16:  

As the whirr of unseen wings tell us of the flight of the keruru,
may the blessing that surrounds us speak of God’s love.
As the call of the morepork sounds in the loneliness of the night,
may we recognise the companionship of the Christ in our dark times.
As the song of the tui peals melody to the hills and sky and bush,
May your joyous spirit sing through us into the world around us. Amen.

©  Beverley L. Osborn, Gifts in Open Hands, 2011,Pilgrim Press

Blessing from 30/10/16

May our living be God inspired. 
May our words be heaven filled. 
May our hope be Spirit crammed. 
May our choices be justice shaped.
May our faith be truth inspired.
May our journey be love breathed. 
And may God be in our every step.