Sunday 24 September 2023
Together We Pray
SUNDAY 24 September 2023, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Exod 16:2-15; Phil 1:21-30; Matt 20:1-16
Let us pray for God’s people and for the whole family of the church.
Eternal God, we pray for the church throughout the world. In the Diocese of Wellington, we pray for +Justin our Bishop, all who lead and all who come, bringing their prayers, their doubts, their hands open to serving. We give thanks for opportunities to learn theology and make communities together. We pray for people who struggle to believe, fearful of mercy; may they see God’s grace in their lives and in our stories shared, how light supplants the darkness and overcomes it. How Christ’s self-offering points us heavenward, here and now.
God of love, hear our prayer.
Holy God, we pray for this gathering, that it may be filled with the wine of new life and the fire of the Holy Spirit. We pray for our callings, whether simple or profound; may we shoulder one another’s burdens and delight in the work shared. May Christlike gentleness and generosity take the place of anger and greed, and may we perceive the spirit of Christ in our fruitful labours*. Be with us above the storms of the world and of our own lives. Guide us, wound us, heal us, bring us** to God.
God of love, hear our prayer.
Great living God, creator of all that is good, you hear your people and provide for their needs. We pray for all in places of danger. Help those answering people in need: the poor, hungry, refugees, or excluded and imprisoned; the sick or dying, or innocent and needing a parent. We pray for women and men who are hurting, depressed or without hope; for those crying out for fairness -- and those with the power to change lives. In this election time, we pray for significant choices that bring good to all people. We pray for the well-being of our cities and places rural and wild; for Aotearoa our home. May we honour one another and serve the common good, *** respecting the dignity of each person as Christ does.
God of love, hear our prayer.
O God, lover of all peoples, we pray for all nations, that there may justice and peace on the earth. We pray for an end to conflicts in Ukraine, the Congo, Afghanistan, Sudan, and everywhere violence has shattered childhoods. We pray for many whose names we do not know, though precious to you, God; let us also pray for one person whose name comes to mind. We remember our families, friends and neighbours, throughout the South Pacific, that all may dwell in peace.
Sources: NRSV Bible; NZ Prayer Book; *Pat Robson, A Celtic Liturgy; **James Baxter, NZPB; ***Episcopal BCP (US); Janet Morley, All Desires Known; NEB Starr, prayers.
