Sunday 5 November
Together We Pray
SUNDAY 5 November 2023, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time or All Saints’ Day (1 Nov)
Let us pray for the church and for the world, held by a loving God.
Beatitudes
Matt 5:11
We bless you, who have spelt your blessings out,
And set this lovely lantern on a hill
Lightening darkness and dispelling doubt
By lifting for a little while the veil.
For longing is the veil of satisfaction
And grief the veil of future happiness
We glimpse beneath the veil of persecution
The coming kingdom’s overflowing bliss
Oh make us pure of heart and help us see
Amongst the shadows and amidst the mourning
The promised Comforter, alive and free,
The kingdom coming and the Son returning,
That even in this pre-dawn dark we might
At once reveal and revel in your light.
Malcolm Guite
God of love, hear our prayer.
O God, creator of all, we pray for our world, so in need of healing, so entangled in war. We pray for peace in the eruption of violence in Gaza and Israel, and in Ukraine. For those mired in poverty and enslaved. We pray for all seeking freedom, and hope for their safety above the noise of storms. We pray for Aotearoa facing change, and for Wellington: that our parishes may be sanctuaries breathing God’s love. We pray for +Justin our bishop and all who minister here. Amidst own concerns, let us remember those who have no peace or consolation: they are our sisters and brothers. Let us be as Christ and have the grace to accept another’s blessing. Help us learn justice, dear God, and plant in us the desire for lifelong peace. Let us make love and mercy our task, too. So may the kingdom of heaven come upon the earth: fresh, green, flowing, unfailing, sure.
God of love, hear our prayer.
Sources: NRSV Bible; NZ Prayer Book; Malcolm Guite, ‘Beatitude’; Joy Cowley, Psalms for the Road; Richard Gillard, ‘Servant Song’; NEB Starr, prayers.
