Mothering Sunday Prayers

The Bible has many images that speak of God as a mother, 

and these prayers for Mothering Sunday reflect this aspect of God's loving care

Mothering Sunday Call to Worship

God of love, mother of us all, we give thanks for the life that you have brought to birth in us.
Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all, we give thanks for your steadfast love for each of us, your children.
Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all, we give thanks that you sustain us and support us throughout our lives.
Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all, we give thanks for the church which nourishes us, and enables us to grow. 
Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all, we give thanks for the gift of those who love us, and those whom we love.
Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

 

The Lord’s Prayer for Mothering Sunday

God of all love, divine mother of us all, your name is holy to us.
May your loving embrace enfold our lives and our world.
You sustain us every day of our lives, from birth to death.
You do not turn your face away from us, 
and you enable us to not turn away from others.
Inspire us to live lives of love, but keep us safe from those who enact hatred.
For your loving embrace is eternal, unbreakable, and unconditional;
today, as it always has been, and always shall be. 
Amen.

Opening prayer for Mothering Sunday

Great God of all love, we come into your presence today
as people in need of your loving embrace.

We recognize that our independence of spirit,
and our desire to make our own way in the world,
have sometimes taken us far from you;
and we acknowledge the many ways
that we have pushed you away.

We are sorry for those times when we have turned our faces
away from your loving gaze.

So today, trusting in your unconditional acceptance,
we open our lives to the light of your love;
and we ask that you will forgive us those dark places
in our souls and in our lives
where we have tried to keep you out, and ourselves hidden.

Help us today to hear you calling us once again,
speaking words of love, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Amen.

Prayers of intercession for Mothering Sunday

God of love, mother of us all,
            we give thanks for the life that you have brought to birth in us.

We thank you for the gift of this day,
            and for our own lives, these precious gifts of incarnation.

We pray today for all those who are being brought to life.
            We pray for unborn babies, for expectant parents,
                        for excited and fearful grandparents,
                        for good families and loving relatives.
            We pray also for all those whose experience of new life is unexpected,
                        troubling, or traumatic:
            We pray for refugees, for victims, and for all those
                        who fear for the health and future of their children.

We recognise in you the mystery of life,
            and your willingness to recommit yourself to your children
            in the midst of all our failings and faults.

Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all,
            we give thanks for your steadfast love for each of us, your children.

We thank you that you never turn your face from us,
            and that your gaze is ever of love and not despair.

We pray for all those who struggle with the responsibilities of childcare,
            for those who find their own deepest fears and doubts
                        reflected back at them in the lives
                        of those whom they have brought into being.

And so we commit to your loving protection
            all those whose parents have failed them,
and we pray for those who seek to provide care and nurturing
            where others have been unable to do so,
            and in so doing echo your own love for each created soul.

So we pray for adopted parents, for step-parents,
            for foster carers, social workers,
            and all those who work in the juvenile care system.
May they discover in their role,
            the love that you extend through them to those in their care.

Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all,
            we give thanks that you sustain us and support us throughout our lives.

We thank you for our bodies,
            and we thank you for those who care for them
            helping us keep healthy, and intervening when we face illness.

With each passing year,
            we grow ever more aware of our own mortality,
            and we are grateful for our own continuing lives.

So we pray today for those who are reaching the end of their lives,
            for those who are very old, and for those who are very ill.

Give comfort and assurance in place of fear and doubt,
            and hold in your eternal embrace
            all those who long for your loving touch.

We pray for nurses and doctors,
            for hospice workers and hospital chaplains,
            and for all those who work in healthcare.

And we ask that, when our own lives draw to their conclusion,
            we will know good care and love
            as we make our own journey into your eternity. 

Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all,
            we give thanks for the church which nourishes us,
            and enables us to grow. 

We thank you for this body, which is your gathered congregation
            drawn together in this place, and at this time.

We pray for one another,
            with all our diverse needs and cares and joys and sorrows.

May we experience your love for us
            as we discover our mutual love for one another.

Help us to discern one another’s needs,
            and to be active in carrying one another’s burdens.

Loving God, thank you for your tender care.

God of love, mother of us all,
            we give thanks for the gift of those who love us,
            and those whom we love.

We thank you for friends and family,
            and in silence now we name in our hearts before you,
            all those whom we love, and who love us.

Thank you, loving God for your tender care.

Amen.

Praying for the wisdom of the magi

Epiphany Sunday 5/1/19

Loving God of unexpected revelation, we remember today the visit of the magi to the infant Christ; and in this story we see the breaking down of barriers that divided Jew from Gentile, rich from poor, vulnerable from powerful. And yet we look at our world, and we see nation turned against nation, we see the gap between wealth and poverty widening, and we see the powerful exploiting the vulnerable. So teach us, today, the wisdom of the magi, that we might be strengthened to the task of living your alternative world of justice and reconciliation into being in the midst of our world.

God of the magi, give us wisdom to follow your leading, even when the call of the good news takes us in the opposite direction to the way the world seems to be going. We pray specifically for those in our world who are seduced by ideologies of nationalism and segregation; who seek to enforce borders and boundaries in ways that divide humanity into ever smaller clusters of self-interest and protection. We pray for all those who now feel unwelcome or threatened in the place they have come to call home; for migrants and immigrants, for asylum seekers and refugees, for the children and grandchildren of those who came to our country in previous generations. We confess our society’s sins of exclusion and segregation, and we pray that our politicians and leaders will have generous hearts, inclusive policies, and a love for difference that reflects the diversity of humanity. We recognise that the change begins with us, and so we ask for your grace that we too might find ways of including and welcoming those whom others would exclude.

God of the magi, give us generosity to offer our gifts to your service. From the treasure-store of our hearts and minds we offer our humility and our service, our time and our talents. We recognise that we live in a world where we are so often encouraged to focus first on ourselves and our own, and yet we know that society is enriched when people give with no expectation of reward. So free us from the temptation to selfish behaviour, and give us a generosity of spirit, that drives us towards the other rather than away from them. We pray, with gratitude, for the charities that serve our city, and for those who volunteer in them. We give thanks for those who give time to care, to love, and to serve. So we pray for the work of London Citizens, West End Refugee Welcome, the Simon Community, Dragon Hall, and all our other partners who give so much to bring about good news in our area.

God of the magi, we offer our gifts of wealth. Such as we have them, we offer our personal money and our individual power; and as a community, we offer our church’s resources to your service, from our buildings and investments, to our reputation and our influence. We recognise that we have responsibilities to fulfil in the way we hold and handle our wealth, and yet we also know that you call us to a life of adventure and risk-taking as we seek to embody your gospel of good news for all people. So give us wisdom to be careful, and courage to be generous, and may the offering of our gold be a blessing to many. We pray for those in our world who handle great wealth, and we think particularly of those who work in banking and business. May they discover your wisdom to bring justice and reconciliation into being through the resources they control.

God of the magi, we offer our gifts of worship. We lay aside all other claims on our devotion, and we focus our attention on your revelation in Jesus Christ. We recognise the temptation to idolatry is always before us, and we know that we have a seemingly endless capacity to project our own desires onto you, and worship them instead of you. So keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who always calls us beyond ourselves. May we be daily challenged to behave in ways that are inspired by the life of Jesus, loving others as we love ourselves, forgiving those who cause us hurt, and offering our hearts, and souls, and minds, and strength to your service. We pray for those who do not have freedom of worship around our world, and we hold before you today the persecuted church. Be especially close to those who are imprisoned for their faith; and may we never take our own freedom to worship you for granted.

God of the magi, we offer our gifts of empathy, our emotions and our love. In a world which so often turns away from the needs of those who are hurting and damaged, help us to face the darkness with those who live in darkness. We are thankful for those who have stood alongside us when we have needed loving support, and we commit ourselves to offering that same love to others. We thank you for the example of Jesus, who brought wholeness to those who were broken, and who restored to community those who were cut off from others. May we, in this church, be a people of restorative love. We pray for those who are bereaved, for those who are unwell, and for those who are struggling with life.

All these prayers we offer, in the name of Jesus our saviour.

Amen.

A prayer for the new year

 

Eternal God of each present moment,

            we come before you at the turning of another year

            with diverse emotions and tentative hope.

The past and the future meet in this day,

            and lay themselves before us for prayerful pondering.

As we look back over the last year,

            we see in our lives, and in the lives of those we love,

that most human combination of joy and sorrow,

            love and loss, laughter and tears.

And so we hold before you now those whom you bring to our minds:

            loved ones we have lost, and loved ones we have discovered;

            friends who have suffered, and friends who have rejoiced;

            those who have borne burdens, and those who have found release.

And we trust that you have been present to all these our varied experiences of life,

            drawing all things together in your great love.

As we look to the coming year,

            we offer you our hopes and our dreams, our resolution and our resolve;

and yet we recognize that despite our best efforts,

            we will not be the people you have called us to be.

But we hold to the hope that by your grace

            we will be the people you have created us to be.

And so we pray for the uncertainty of tomorrow,

            and we trust that you will be present with us whatever the future may hold,

            as you draw all things together in your great love.

But most of all, we turn our prayers to the needs of this day,

            because yesterday is gone and cannot be changed,

            and tomorrow will bring enough worries of its own.

So we pray for the world to which you have come in Christ Jesus,

            bringing forgiveness where there is guilt,

            and new life where there is suffering and death.

We commit to your loving care all those who face tomorrow with no hope,

            because their situation today is hopeless.

And we think particularly of refugees, asylum seekers,

            and all people displaced by war or climate change.

Renew in us a concern for the weak and vulnerable,

            and give us courage:

                        to speak up for the voiceless,

                        to speak out against violence in all its forms,

                        and to speak of the necessity to care for all creation.

We pray for those who have the authority to effect change on a global scale,

            for politicians and business leaders,

            for the rich and the powerful, the articulate and the influential.

May they be given the gift of empathy,

            and the courage to use their power for the good of the many, and not just the few.

Renew in us a passion for change, and an unwillingness to acquiesce.

            Give us the courage to take action

                        against powers that coerce and control,

            and may we learn to be wise

                        in the ways we speak and act as we seek to play our part

                        in the coming of your kingdom of love, justice, and peace.

We pray for our church, for your gathered people in this place;

            we thank you for one another, in all our glorious diversity,

            and we recommit ourselves to each other as sisters and brothers in Christ.

We pray for those who have come through the doors of this building over the last years,

            from actors and celebrities to the homeless and the vulnerable.

We pray for all those who have joined us in worship,

            visitors from around the globe, bringing greetings from your worldwide family.

We pray for those who have left our fellowship,

            and for those who have joined it.

May we know, today, who we are created to be,

            and may we learn what it is to be true to the calling you have placed on us.

Help us to love each other,

            to welcome new people with kindness,

            to serve one another with grace,

            and to forgive one another with sincerity.

May our church, over the coming year,

            be a place of safety for those who are vulnerable,

            and a place of challenge for those who are comfortable.

May we be a community of inclusion for those who are excluded,

            and a community of defiance for those who would exclude.

May we be humble in the face of our own failings,

            but bold in the face of those who fail others.

May we be your people, in this place, at this time,

            created by you and called to live lives of courageous love.

Amen.