Ngā Karakia Sunday 6th of April 2025

5th Sunday of Lent

Prayers inspired by original prayers, Isa 43:16-21, Ps 126, Phil 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8

An acknowledgment

E te Atua
Kia tau mai tō atawhai
Ki runga i a mātou e mau parekawakawa ana,
Mō rātou kua ngaro ki te pō;
Mō rātou wua wehe ki Tō poho.

God, bless those of us in grief:

Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

[Bidding and response]

Our hands were empty, and you filled them

For the Church

E te Ariki
Lord, you have created something new in us,
Your church.
As we travel together through Lent
And move towards the Cross
You remind us of what you have done in us,
If we but only see it

See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

Lord, restore us, your church,
in all our ministries throughout this land.
Grant us your food for the journey,
That is enough for us.

Bidding & response: Our hands were empty, and you filled them

We pray for the world and for this place.

Lord we give you thanks
For your world in all its beauty;
with its many scars and hard places.
We pray for those people who also suffer
In places of war and chaos;
In natural disasters
We pray for new life, new peace, restoration and hope

Bidding & response: Our hands were empty, and you filled them

We pray for our communities and for our own needs.

God of life, God of love
We lift to you those with whom we connect every day,
our neighbours, our co-workers, all of our fellow travellers;
who make community possible in our lives;
We lift now to you our hurts, our needs, and the needs of others.

[pause]

Bless us as we seek to follow the path in the wilderness
you have made for us to follow.
May we remember anew Your son’s own journey
to the Cross.
Grant us new courage to walk with Him.

Bidding & response: Our hands were empty, and you filled them

Amen.