Prayer

Our friend Jeff Barnard is in the hospital. Comments are currently turned off on his blog–some of us are hoping to collect well-wishes and pass them along in the meantime.

Jeff, we are praying for you.

We prayed this prayer at a joint communion service, marking the beginning of Christian Aid Week, of the four Oxford city-centre ‘Faith in Action’ churches: New Road Baptist Church, Wesley Memorial Church, Saint Columba’s Church, and Saint Michael-at-the-Northgate. My friend Dr Martin Hodson preached.

Will you join me in the prayers of concern. Let us pray.

God the Creator, we adore you for creating the universe, full of potential to unfold; for creating our world, teeming with life and the possibility to develop.

God the Christ, we marvel that you have come among us; that we can find you in the least of these, the most unassuming of our neighbours.

God the Holy Spirit, we ask you to fill us with your power, now comforting, now challenging, as you invite us to participate in the continuing creation, transformation, and renewal of our cosmos. Read the rest of this entry »

Father God, in the beginning,
you gathered the waters in one place to let dry lands appear.
In latter times,
you parted the waters to let your people pass into freedom;
you led your people with a pillar of fire in the darkness.
You said:
‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you:
when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon you.’
‘Fear not: for I am with you.’
We thank you for all this
and commit our journey today into your mighty hands.

Lord, have mercy; Christ, prends pitié; Heer, ontferm u over ons.
Read the rest of this entry »

God our Creator, we thank you for the elemental nitrogen, which forms the silent majority in the air we breathe. We thank you for the bacteria that fixate nitrogen from the air, activating the element for metabolism in the biosphere.

With John Seymour, companion of Saint Fritz Schumacher, we remember the nitrogen cycle: We recall how humanity has split this one wonderful system into the two problems of pollution and the need of artificial fertilization.

We grieve for the wasted material containing fixated nitrogen, polluting the rivers and seas rather than fertilizing the land. We commit to you our anxieties about the Haber–Bosch process, which fixates nitrogen to make fertilizers by burning large amounts of fossil fuels.

God the Holy Spirit, give us wisdom and courage to repair and complete the nitrogen cycle.

Now we join the Society of Ordained Scientists in this collect: Almighty God, Creator and Redeemer of all that is, source and foundation of time and space, matter and energy, life and consciousness: Grant us in this Society and all who study the mysteries of your creation, grace to be true witnesses to your glory and faithful stewards of your gifts.

We pray all this through Jesus Christ, who is Alpha and Omega – who completes the cycle and reconciles all things to himself. Amen.

There’s a 12-hour prayer vigil for Main South at King & Main in Worcester tonight, organized by The Woo.

I stopped by tonight and joined about 15 others in a little silent prayer, a little spoken prayer, a lot of conversation, and the occasional psalm. As a Catholic, when I think “12-hour prayer vigil” I think of rosaries, litanies, and the Divine Office. This group is coming from a different place, and it’s interesting watching them figure out how they want to use this time. I’ll be back for more in the morning.

The Woo, a small “alternative Christian church” on Main Street, are planning an all-night prayer vigil at the corner of Main and King from 8pm Friday, Aug 14 to 8am Saturday, Aug 15. Several members of the congregation live in the neighborhood, and their hope is to “give God a foothold in the area” and pray for the brokenness they see there.

For more info, call Dan at 508-341-1103.

Over the year, we prayed for people and places around the world.
Today we pray for our own land and nations.
In particular, we pray for the elections upcoming:
the Oxfordshire County Council elections
and elections to the European Parliament.

Will you pray with me? Let us pray.
Read the rest of this entry »

Commitment for Life is a network within the United Reformed Church committed to praying, giving, and campaigning for better lives all over the world. My church, Saint Columba’s, is a Commitment for Life congregation. As part of this network, we take action, pray, and give for people across the world. Particularly, we support partners in four countries: Bangladesh, Israel/Palestine, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe.

Seventy-five percent of the money we raise through Commitment for Life goes to Christian Aid. In this way, the United Reformed Church raised more than half a million pounds for Christian Aid last year. A tenth of the money goes to World Development Movement, a radical campaigning organization tackling the underlying causes of poverty. There is more information on the Commitment for Life website.

The United Reformed Church, through the Commitment for Life programme, supports partners in four countries: Bangladesh, Israel/Palestine, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe. Today we pray for two of these, Israel/Palestine and Zimbabwe. Will you pray with me. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m joining more than 60 people on January 11, 2009 — the seventh anniversary of the opening of American detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — in a nine-day, liquid-only fast to encourage President-Elect Barack Obama to keep his promise to shut down Guantanamo and end torture in his first days of office.

At DuPont Circle Park in Washington, DC, at 12:45 pm, leading human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights, and 9-11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, will call for an end to the Bush policies, justice for the detainees, and accountability for US crimes. 100-200 demonstrators wearing orange jumpsuits and hoods will have a prisoner procession to dramatize the plight of the detainees still at Guantanamo.

The fast ends on Inauguration Day, when we begin a 100 day campaign to close the prison.

This will be my longest fast to date. I’m skeptical about “detoxification” and other health claims made for fasting, but fasting has always cured my spiritual malaise and helped me refocus my life.

What will my fast be like? I have this goofy super-health-food protein drink, vegan but not raw. My plan is to have 2 servings a day (440 calories) of this for the first week or so, then re-evaluate. I think most of the other fasters will stick to juice. (8 ounces of unsweetened orange juice is 112 calories, and apple juice is 117 calories.) I’m also going to avoid caffeine and alcohol.

If you’ll be fasting, in DC or elsewhere, let me know and we’ll link to your account on the 100 Days website.

100 Days co-organizer Matt Daloisio talks about the campaign:

God our Father, we remember that in ancient times, you guided the people of Israel with pillars of cloud and fire.

God in Christ, we remember that after your Resurrection, you appeared to the two travellers on the Emmaus Road, and later to Apostle Paul on the Damascus Road.

God the Holy Spirit, we remember that in more recent times you accompanied storytelling pilgrims and spiritual-singing refugees.

We pray now for all who travel; may your guidance and protection be with them as in those former times. Read the rest of this entry »