CALL TO PRAYER
Spirit of the Living God, open our lips
and we shall sing of your wonders;
open our eyes
and we shall behold your glory;
open our hearts
and we shall embrace your love;
open our minds
and we shall discover your wisdom;
open our hands
and we shall show your generosity;
open our flesh
and we shall embody your presence.
Glory to the Father, and to the + Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
PSALMODY
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Glory to God, Source of all being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever.
Amen.
SCRIPTURE
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
One: Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.
Many: Thanks be to God.
TIME FOR MEDITATION
SONG ♪ My God, may your kingdom come. Our Father, may your kingdom come
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
From the rising of the sun to its setting, let us pray to the Lord.
We pray this week especially with the countries of Indian Ocean Islands
We are thankful for:
- the spectacular scenery, exotic plants, rare animals and abundant sea life that flourish in the region
- how people who are ethnically and religiously diverse have long lived together
- the economic developments that have lifted some out of poverty
- the vital evangelism, social and public witness of churches, and how the churches relate to people of other faiths.
We pray for:
- the fragile environment and the unique plants, animals and lands, that they will be protected, especially as the sea rises due to Global warming;
- tourism and other economic developments, that they are in threat, due to COVID 19 Pandemic in these countries
- For those who stand for and work towards justice and reconciliation, especially in times of political turmoil.
(Pause)
- For all who are struggling to breathe today because of COVID-19 pandemic.
(Pause)
- For all those who have contracted Covid-19, may they be diagnosed early and receive proper attention in a health care system that is not taxed beyond capacity; may they recover and feel their lives valued and renewed.
(Pause)
- For the health care workers nurses, those who work in medical facilities, labs, pharmacies, cleaning services, transportation, public safety and other responders who are helping during this health crisis.
(Pause)
- For those who are in quarantine and in the ICU beds, separated from their homes and their families so that the rest of the population may be protected. Lord we pray that may they know that they are supported and loved.
(Pause)
- For those who gasp for oxygen and wait in vain for hospital beds, for those whose mourning is prolonged as they wait for a place to lay their loved ones to rest in burial grounds and crematoriums. Lord in your Mercy.
Hear our prayers.
For all those needs for which we pray this day, we take a moment to name them before you now, either speaking aloud, writing them in the chatroom, or silently in our hearts...
...a brief pause for petitions...
Lord in your Mercy.
Hear our prayers. Amen.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
you have welcomed us into your kingdom
and your hearts’ desire is to draw every human being to yourself.
Grant us clear eyes to see people as you see them,
sensitive feet to stand in their shoes,
and warm smiles to welcome them into your name.
Give us generous hearts
that our church becomes a foretaste of heaven
where every soul you send us
finds their loving home in the community of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.
(Prayer from the Anglican Diocese of Mauritius, The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean.)
THE LORD’S PRAYER (in many languages)
BLESSING
Come Holy Spirit, come.
Give us a vision for a new day.
Come Holy Spirit, come.
Give us a mission for this day.
Come Holy Spirit, come,
Help us to be part of the healing of this world.
And now may the love of God, the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, Be with us now and forever. Amen.
The peace of Christ be with you all!
We share the peace of Christ.