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Street with a red telephone booth and church towers in the background

Busy street life in central Oxford, England, United Kingdom, 23 March 2023.

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Intercessions

We give thanks for:

  • the many distinct cultures in these islands and how literature, music, dance, and other traditions rooted here, have enriched people around the world
  • the economic and other aid that consistently have come from the area to those in the world who are most in need
  • the many who have emigrated to other parts of the world, and in turn, the immigrants from these lands who are now turning the United Kingdom and Ireland into increasingly multi-ethnic, multireligious societies
  • the positive contributions Great Britain has made in world history and that church leaders have played in the ecumenical and interfaith movements.

We pray for:

  • the healing of scars and memories that linger after times of colonization
  • overcoming barriers so that all might experience welcome as these countries become more genuinely multi-ethnic and multi-faith
  • resolving differences and political tensions over how Great Britain should relate to the rest of Europe
  • dealing with the challenges of increasing secularism and the emergence of new ways of expressing religion and spirituality.

Prayers

God of passion and power

God of passion and power,
insistent, immediate,
challenging, compelling us with your story’s breathless beginning.
Walk us into the wilderness
to hear your voice where silence reigns.
Give us insight, the vision beyond all seeing,
so we may look upon heavens torn open
and know that the time of good news for all creation
is always now. Amen.

(© Claire Amos)

For Christian Unity

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace,
give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.
Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord: that, as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart, and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(The Church of Ireland, the Book of Common Prayer 2004)
https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer/accession-services.aspx

A Litany: Make straight the way for the Lord

L: God, how good it is to raise our voices
and to welcome your presence among us,
a stream in the desert, a rose in the wilderness!
All: Make straight the way for the Lord!

L: From our slumbers we rise to praise you.
All that demeans and belittles us we shrug off,
as we stand strong and confident before you.
All: Make straight the way for the Lord!

L: From all we do to keep you from us,
from all the evil that is in us,
from the gloom that would overwhelm us
and from all that would harm us,
set us free!
All: Make straight the way for the Lord!

L: We share our hope together,
that you will come to us as prophets tell,
bringing peace and justice to a tired and twisted world.
All: Make straight the way for the Lord!

L: God, come to us in Jesus and save us!
Let the waste places of the world be made new again!
Let the wicked be routed and the righteous shout with joy!

(In: For the love of God, Prayer Handbook 1996, Michael and Susan Durber)

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