It is enough, what I have here But only if your voice is heard Above the clamour of the world That still, small voice may fade away Unless I make a place for it Pulling aside the curtains of my mind Holding onto the voice that has a root in me A place where it […]
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They are here, These whispers of hope that insist on singing under the dust and rubble of these streets of pain. We will have to stand still, shush any rising urge to explain away tanks and hostages and terrors in the night sky. We will have to press our ear to the earth, where the […]
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Appropriate for a Blue Christmas or Longest Night service, acknowledging the challenges often faced during the dark seasons of the year. On this longest night of the year, we gather to worship you, our Creator. The prophets tell of a light to the nations; a dawn from on high breaking upon us. The poets speak […]
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God of mercy and love, for all who live with HIV or AIDS. Grant them loving companions who will support them in the midst of fear, that every day may be lived with courage and faith. Bless them with an abundance of your love, that they may live with concern for others. Pour on them […]
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O God, At the darkest time of the year comes the brightest of Hope. Let the gladness of its coming and the hope of its promise be warm within us. To embrace this Hope is to believe that someday there shall be A world of goodwill from which all cruelty is gone. A world in […]
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A Litany One: Because of the rising of the sun in the morning of each new day All: Our hope is in you, God One: Because of the setting of that same sun in the evening All: Our hope is in you, God One: Because of the stars that extend towards infinity All: Our hope […]
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Loving God, Draw everything of me Into the mystery of You Bending the barrenness Of winter’s weary wait Toward Your leading light Hinting at things to come. Let everything of me Be swayed toward You Resisting every wind Of the world’s uprooting Often blowing within Daring to break my resolve To follow Your Christ-love Wherever […]
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I remember thinking to myself that losing my son could be a cloud over the rest of my life, or he could be the light in my life. I made a conscious decision to hope. Hope is what gets us out of bed each morning. Hope is what has us peering around the corner to […]
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Loving God, Grant me a vision Greater than any barricade Daring me to despair At signs screaming out ‘No possible way forward, This road is closed.’ Yes, lift up my eyes To Your emerging light Stretching a horizon of hope Bearing Your resurrection rising Larger than any obstruction Of the world’s weary making Or of […]
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This might be used as a corporate prayer, substituting ‘we’ for I’. It might also be used at a service of affirmation — an induction, ordination, baptism, re-commitment or confirmation, substituting ‘you’ for ‘I’. May I…. Hands at third eye centre: May I see things as they really are, and not as how I want […]
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If we’re honest, compassion does not come easy to us, God; We see others who struggle; those without homes, or food; those dying from curable diseases, simply because they can’t get access to the medicine they need; those who have lost loved ones through death or circumstance, and long for human companionship; those who are […]
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Epiphany 4 and Pentecost 11, Year C Loving One, all I want is to be safe with you; keep away the people who only come to mock me. Let me feel your strength coming to my rescue, hear me and stand by me when trouble comes. Be like a rock to me, my security and […]
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The doors open the doors close *behind us, the world *before us, sanctuary *and the stillness of God Be prayer quiet Share quiet Shore up the noisy clanging *in your soul *on your lips Allow God to find you *bind you up *in [God’s] peace Unwind your spirit Let it float *on the song of […]
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Lyrics are sung in Bemba and translated below into English. Here’s a link to Cephas Ng’oma singing this song. Chorus Uku Yahweh ekukabila kwa mutima wandi (YHWH, this is my heart’s desire) Uku Yahweh ekukabila kwa mweo wandi (YHWH, this is my life’s desire) Isusheni umutima wandi (Fill my heart) Isusheni umweo wandi (Fill […]
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‘For the great human family, it is necessary to renew always the common horizon toward which we are journeying. The horizon of hope!’
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Tune: Hereford A voice for the voiceless A promise of forgiveness A chance to be A people of blessing A call to share love that God richly gives so freely A love that encompasses A world that needs its healing A voice in the darkness To shine a light on visions That show us the […]
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A church’s mission statement can hold words of affirmation, hope and promise. Our mission statements, our statements about who we are, have an important place in our churches, not just posted on the wall or printed on the website, but proclaimed aloud in our worship. Our vision is to have a healthy church […]
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A prayer for healing after trauma Easily adapted for a group, e.g. using ‘our’ and ‘us’ God of all time, this time is difficult. My memories rush at me. My memories have disappeared as my mind manages each day. I am aware that others have had times like mine or worse. But God it feels […]
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Grant us, O Lord, The royalty of inward happiness And the serenity which comes from living close to Thee. Do Thou daily renew in us The sense of Joy so that by Thy Spirit, We may bear about us The infection of good courage. – Thomas More 1478-1535
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The next time it gets light I will awake with hope And tonight as it gets dark I will not fear The next time it grows light I will welcome the dawn The next time morning comes I’ll be reborn The next time it grows dark I will not hide away The darkness does not […]
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Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away to the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, That, we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. […]
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Inspired by words of Julian of Norwich: ‘All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well for there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and we never let us go.’ Never let go Though it’s hard to hold on This love will hold you And […]
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Lent 3 & 5, Year B God of wide skies and speechless joy, as we come before you in wonder, may our words join the voiceless songs of praise uttered by the simple beauty of all created things. Allow your wisdom, balance, and connecting love to draw us into the centre of […]
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No matter how bad things get, there’s always hope. Even when things were at their worst for the young Anne Frank, she wrote: ‘The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does […]
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Written after visiting my first grandchild. Baby smells waft into my nostrils. A pattering heart pulsates in my embrace. Tearlets moisten my eyes. Powerful hope swirls through my core. This is my body. This is my blood. God’s own child rests in my arms. By what name shall this child be called? Hope. Promise. Future. […]
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Let this be a sacred time, O God, in which I let what has begun, gradually grow, finding within me the patience and trust that allows me to tend my concerns with wisdom. This prayer by Annie Heppenstall was distributed at Gloucester Cathedral during the ‘Museum of the Moon’ exhibition in October 2019.
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Jesus bids us shine, With a pure, clear light, Like a little candle, Burning in the night. In this world is darkness, So, let us shine— You in your small corner, And I in mine. Jesus bids us shine, Then, for all around Many kinds of darkness In this world are found – Sin and […]
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A reflection on Dame Julian of Norwich’s text from Revelations of Divine Love: ‘All shall be well. You shall see yourself that all things shall be well. That which is impossible for you is not impossible for me. I shall keep my word in all things and I shall make all things well.’ ‘All shall […]
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‘The realm of God is like a treasure hidden in a field….like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When one is found of great value, the merchant goes away, and sells all their belongings and buys it.’ –Matthew 13:44-46 Beauty Becoming The cutter eyes the stone A stalk of translucent green tourmaline Its essence shines […]
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In the silence The clarity of your voice, Climbs high Upon the eagle’s wings. The chains of doubt That imprison my soul, Fall away beneath my feet. In the freedom and majesty Of the sentinel’s gaze, Faith is strengthened And hope returned To a weary heart, Upon the silent flight Of eagle’s wings. Chris posts […]
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Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday after Easter), Year C John 20:19-31 Eternal One, as we travel through life’s valleys, in the places of darkness, and despair, we know that you are with us. Even when life’s doubts assail us, we know that you still abide with us, watching over us. Strengthen our faith. Help us […]
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Sun light fades shadows blend united into layers Darkness shrouds The Night is not alone. Aged with patience Saguaro keeps watch his feathered guards at the helm ready The Crown is not alone Steady, enduring, branches like steel reach yearn cradle the stillness The Ironwood is not alone Vipers tucked in hiding coyote sings lullaby […]
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As the crimson flame of life Breaks slowly Above the horizon, The white, frosted meadows, With trees and hedgerows Of sculptured ice, Speak loudly Of your presence. Once more Upon this journey, As another day begins, Without effort Or intrusion, Through the peace And tranquillity Of your silent voice, The moment becomes eternal, And the […]
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By your side There is peace, A quiet place Of beauty and realisation, Where wisdom Seeks reason and understanding, Where myth is laid to rest By the reality of knowledge. By your side There is hope, That arrogance and greed Will not destroy, That selfless love Will prevail. By your side Life is sacred, A […]
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Hope when pressed to earth Will find nourishment and life In truths long buried.
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“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready […]
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Gracious God, Today we pray for a moment of quiet to catch our breath; to give thanks to you; to listen to the insects and the birds, to the cars and airplanes; to watch the breeze move gently in the leaves and the squirrels collect food for their winter store. Grant us quiet. Today we […]
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Dear God of all, grant us understanding of our brothers and sisters worldwide. Plant in us the seed of oneness. Nourish us with your love and grace so that we may live God-like in our interactions with those who are different from us. Grant us the ability to recognize the spirit and sameness that unites […]
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Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. — Luke 3: 5-6 Every valley shall be filled: may our low places, our wrong doings of the past, […]
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There’s a dip in the stone step in the threshold of the old cathedral, worn where thousands of pilgrims have stepped as they entered the darkness to pray. Even in the old country church the railing is rubbed bare where the faithful have grasped, have leaned, have hoped. There is a worn spot at […]
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