Previous Reflections

Gracious God, as the weekend arrives we give thanks for blessings received this week. With so many uncertainties and concerns in our lives at this present time, we are reminded of Your continuing love and presence in our lives and so we give thanks. We give thanks that most of our children were able to return to school and we continue to pray for the well-being of all our young people, staff and families. We give thanks for the continuing service of our amazing NHS, no longer in the news and yet still serving our nation behind the scenes, 24/7. We give thanks that the death rate from Covid 19 remains very low and just pray that infection rates will fall in the days ahead. We give thanks that we have been able to open the doors of our Church buildings once more. And we give thanks for any personal blessings we have received this week. Lord God, these are challenging and difficult times but we know that You are a God who understands our anxieties and reaches out to us in love, and so we give thanks. Amen.

Gracious God, You lead us from darkness to light, from despair to hope. You lead us beside still waters where we can rest awhile in your presence. You lead us along safe paths where we might grow in faith and learn from You. And so, with everything going on around us, we take a moment out of the concerns of the day to focus upon You and Your love for us. Lord God, if we have wandered from the fold and failed to be the people You would have us be, draw us back into Your arms, embrace us in Your love and forgive us, we pray. Amen

Loving God, thank you that You know us better than we know ourselves, You know the concerns of our hearts and are just waiting for us to come to You in prayer. May Your love guide us through any challenges today, shaping our hearts, thoughts and actions. May your Love bring comfort to anyone in need of release or support today. For those who seek to bring comfort to others, may Your strength and wisdom be with them. And may we be ready to see, to love and to respond in Your name, Amen.

Gracious God, at the start of a new week, we place our lives and the lives of those we love, into Your care. We know that we are loved by You immeasurably, and so whatever the challenges we may face in the week ahead, we journey with You. Help us to care for others at this time, in very practical ways. And amidst all this Lord, help us to witness to You, to remember our calling to declare the Good News of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Lord God, in the days to come we walk with You, and for you. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Gracious God, this morning we come to You with praise and thanksgiving for the wonderful world You have created. You have given us all that we need to sustain life, and yet sadly, as issues over single use plastics enters our news forums again, we acknowledge that there are many ways in which we fail to be good stewards of your Earth. Please help each of us to continue to learn how to reduce our carbon footprint. In a world of disposable goods, help us to use resources wisely and prudently as we focus on the sustainability of resources for all people.You have gifted humankind a truly beautiful and awesome home. And so help us to take seriously our guardianship of the gifts You have bestowed upon us. May our call to be stewards govern and guide our daily living. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Gracious God, as we continue to explore how to be Church at the start of the new Methodist Year, we offer before You the words of John Wesley. May they be our prayer. May we do all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, to all the people we can, as long as ever we can. May our Churches continue to be beacons of hope, love, compassion and assurance for all people in these times. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Gracious God, today marks a beginning for many people in our communities. Children and staff will continue to return to school after many months of disrupted learning. As the Methodist Church begins a new year today, Ministers will start new Church appointments in this difficult working climate of social distancing. And so for all those who today marks a new start, we pray for Your presence, Your strength and Your guidance. And we acknowledge too Lord, that every day is a new beginning for each and every one of us. And so we reflect upon Your steadfast love, Your faithfulness to us and we give thanks. May we continue to place our hope and our trust in You. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Gracious God, at the start of a new week, we place our lives into Your Hands. In the week ahead, whatever the highs, the lows, the challenges, the disappointments, the achievements, the sadnesses and the joys, we place our Trust in You. We are Your people, and so we commit our lives this week in service to You. May You be at the very centre of our being and may we be aware of Your presence, guiding, leading, assuring and encouraging us to be the people You would have us be. In the name of Jesus, our Saviour we pray, Amen.

Good morning everyone. This morning, a victim of the terrorist attack on a Mosque in New Zealand in March 2019, appeared on Television and publicly asked that we as a nation pray for all those affected by this tragedy, as sentence was passed yesterday. The grief and the suffering from lasting injuries continue, as do the emotional scars. And so today I respect that wish and ask that we remember all those affected in our prayers. I offer you a prayer for peace by St Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Gracious God, as we approach the end of the week we bring our prayers before You. In a moment of quiet we lift before You any concerns we have for other people, or any situations that rest heavy on our hearts.
And now we ask for Your blessing, upon our family, our friends, our neighbours, our Church community, all those in need of Your blessing this day.
And finally we give You thanks for all You have done to assure us of Your presence and Your love for us, in the past week. May we continue to place our trust and our hope in You.
We bring all our prayers before You in the name of Jesus, acknowledging Him as Your Son, and our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

Gracious God, this morning we lift before you all those young people receiving GCSE results. Lord, we appreciate how stressful this is for the youngsters and their families, particularly this year as their education has been disrupted, but we know you have a purpose and plan for each and every one of them. And so today, may they be assured of Your presence, may they be surrounded by support networks to guide them through, and may we as a community continue to nurture the future of our young people with empathy, wisdom and love. In Jesus name we pray,Amen.

Gracious God, this morning we come to You in prayer for the mental health of our nation. This virus effects us all in so many different ways Lord, and we know the strain that it puts on the mental well-being of many people, of all ages. We pray for all those in need of medical support that resources may be made available. We pray that those in authority will recognise the need to provide effective, professional support and we pray for all health care professionals working to help address mental health issues. So too, we pray that as communities we will continue to nurture and support those who are vulnerable and in need of conversation and a listening ear. And we pray for ourselves Lord, however we are feeling at this time. You are our strength and our support and for this we give You thanks. As we take a moment to enter into Your presence, calm any insecurities or concerns we may have this day and give us a sense of Your peace. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.