Leader: In the book of Job we read, ‘In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, while they slumber on their beds, then God opens their ears’. Let us pray in this time together that our ears may be opened – that we will hear God’s continuous call to us to choose life in the big & the small choices that we make.
All: We want to walk away from that which brings death, & to choose life – life in God the Father, the Son & the Spirit. Amen, Alleluia!
Please join in with the hymn:
Blest are the pure in heart, for they shall see our God;
The secret of the Lord is theirs, their home is Christ’s abode.
The Lord who left the heavens, our life and peace to bring,
To dwell in lowliness with us, our pattern and our king.
Still to the lowly soul he does himself impart,
And for his dwelling and his throne chooses the pure in heart.
Lord we thy presence seek; may ours thy blessing be;
Give us a pure and lowly heart, a temple fit for thee.
We will hear a setting of Psalm 71 (72) from Singing the Psalms 3,
joining in if we wish:
Justice shall flourish in God’s time & fullness of peace for ever.
O come with your judgement, endow the king,
And with your justice, his son.
Peace shall cover your people with righteousness
And your own wicked ones with justice.
Peace shall rescue the poor in their need
When there is no-one to help.
Peace shall have pity on the lonely & the weak,
The lives of the poor he will save.
Justice shall flower in his days,
And peace till the moon be no more.
Peace shall rule from sea to sea
From the river to the ends of the earth.
The Canticle from Revelation will be spoken taking a verse each
All: The Lord will give him power and honour and empire and all peoples will serve him.
- We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, the Is & the Was, because you have accepted your great power and started to reign.
- And the nations have become angry, & your anger has come,
and the time for the dead to be judged, & to give their reward to your slaves, the prophets and to the saints, & to those who fear your name, the small and the great, & to destroy those who destroy the earth.
- Now the salvation & the power and the kingdom of our God has come & the authority of his Messiah because the accuser of our brothers & sisters was cast down, the one who accuses them day & night before our God day & night.
- And they conquered him because of the blood of the lamb,
and because of the word of their witness; they did not love their lives to the point of death.
All: Therefore rejoice O heavens, and you who dwell within you.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
All: The Lord will give him power and honour and empire and all
peoples will serve him.
Reading: 1 Peter 1 22&23
Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified
yourselves so that you can experience the genuine love of
sisters & brothers, love each other intensely from the heart;
for your new birth was not from any perishable seed, but from
imperishable seed, the living & enduring Word.
After a few moments of silent reflection, we are invited to respond aloud to the reading – maybe with an insight, or just the repetition of a single word or phrase that is important for you, maybe relating the text or part of it to something that has happened during the day or recently.
Please stand to sing the Magnificat.
Cantors: The Lord has satisfied and filled with good things
Those who hungered for justice.
Side 1: My being proclaims your greatness,
And my spirit finds joy in you, God my Saviour;
Side 2: For you have looked upon me, your servant, in my lowliness:
All ages to come shall call me blessed.
Side 1: God, you who are mighty, have done great things for me:
Holy is your name.
Side 2: Your mercy is from age to age
Towards those who fear you.
Side 1: You have shown might with your arm,
And confused the proud in their inmost thoughts.
Side 2: You have deposed the mighty from their thrones,
And raised the lowly to high places.
Side 1: The hungry you have given every good thing,
While the rich you have sent away empty.
Side 2: You have upheld Israel, your servant,
Ever mindful of your mercy-
Side 1: Even as you promised our ancestors,
Promised Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants for ever.
All: Give praise to the Father Almighty,
To his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
To the Spirit who dwells in our hearts,
Both now and for ever, Amen.
All: The Lord has satisfied and filled with good things
Those who hungered for justice.
Intercessions:
Reader: King of Peace, guide the actions of those who govern us ……….silence……..we pray,
All: Show us what we can do to take our responsibility fully.
Reader: Help those who govern us to see the need to defend the vulnerable ……….silence……..we pray,
All: Show us what we can do to take our responsibility fully.
Reader: Make us true heralds of the values of your kingdom ……….silence……..we pray,
All: Show us what we can do to take our responsibility fully.
Reader: Let your healing power fall on those we love & who are
suffering at this time ……….silence……..we pray,
All: Show us what we can do to take our responsibility fully.
Reader: Bring your peace to the hearts of those who are violent in words & deeds ……….silence……..we pray,
All: Show us what we can do to take our responsibility fully.
Reader: We pray for people who have died today, & for those who will die tonight……… We also remember in prayer those whose anniversary of death occurs tomorrow, remembering especially:
Pause for people to add silently or aloud any further intentions.
Leader begins the Our Father.
Leader: God our Father, you have been there guiding us and helping us through this day: remain with us through the evening; and during the night bless all those we love & care for. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
All: When the river of life calls us to life, may God bless us with energy.
When the river of life calls us to begin, may God bless us with courage.
When the river of life calls us to flow, may God bless us with direction.
When the river of life calls us to turn, may God bless us with faith.
When the river of life calls us to tumble down, may God bless us with delight.
And tonight may God bless each of us with peace & joy. Amen.
For a few moments at the conclusion of our prayer, let us
reflect on our day as we listen to some music.