Prayers 7 September 2025
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time/Te Rātapu Rua Tekau mā toru o He Wā Noa
Prayers inspired by original prayers, Waiora Te Moni ‘He Rau Hiki’ ‘Rau Whakmoemiti’ in He Rau Aroha (2023, Te Wānanga Ihorangi) Jer 18:1-11, Ps 139:1-6,13-18, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14:25-33; Archbishops’ Statement Regarding the Holy Land 1 September 2025.
[We gather - An approach]
Whāia, whāia te ara Matua
Whāia, whāia te ara Atua
Seek and you shall find the Creator’s path.
Seek and you shall find God.
Titiro atawhai mai,
Ki a mātou e mau parekawakawa ana
mō rātou kua hemo i te mata o te whenua
Whakaorangia mātou, te hunga ora.
Look with grace
Upon we who bear the wreaths of grief
For those who have been lost from the face of the land
We, the living, look for Your deliverance.
We bring ourselves before You now
You know each one of us,
Completely.
You lay Your hand upon each one of us.
Our lips proclaim Your praise.
Bidding and Response:
O God, the joy of union with you is your gift;
may your compassion direct our hearts.
[We pray for the Church]
E Ihowa o Ngā Mano
Lord of Hosts,
When you gave Jeremiah
The word and image of the potter
working at the wheel,
How we, Your Church yearns also
to be renewed,
Shaped,
Worked,
Redeemed -
By Your hands, O Lord:
as seems best to You.
Make Your Church, here, and throughout the world,
brave, loving -
And fit for Your Holy purposes in this world.
Bidding and Response:
O God, the joy of union with you is your gift;
may your compassion direct our hearts.
[We pray for the world]
E Ihu, Jesus,
You have called us out,
To take up Your cross;
To turn our face to You,
And not lose heart before our task is done.
As we follow Your path,
We pray for this wounded world.
We deplore the inhumanity of war,
We cry out for the vulnerable and the oppressed
Of Gaza
Of Ukraine
Of Sudan;
Of all places so darkened.
We pray for innocent people carrying a burden they did not choose,
Facing death they cannot avoid.
Help them and us to break those chains,
And to be bound in Your love instead.
Bidding and Response:
O God, the joy of union with you is your gift;
may your compassion direct our hearts.
[We pray for our communities and for our own needs.]
Holy Spirit, e te Wairua Tapu
Be present in our homes, our families, our communities.
May our leaders know humility and Your good purposes;
May our children know love, and kindness;
May our youth know safety, challenge and acceptance;
May our adults know true fellowship;
May our elders know respect and care;
Help us, in all the places we hold dear,
taste and see
That God is good.
Be with us now as we pray for our own needs;
Our fears;
Our hopes;
And the things we cannot yet name.
Wairua Tapu - tau mai rā.
Bidding and Response:
O God, the joy of union with you is your gift;
may your compassion direct our hearts.
