Thank you God, for our brother, the Ethiopian Eunuch, baptised into your life a forebear in the family of Christ. Thank you for all of our forebears, and siblings who are embodied in ways that disrupt heteropatriarchal norms; who are part of the family you are making: gay and lesbian inside and outside of gender… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Pursued by Goodness
Goodness and mercy all my days, shall surely follow me… Dear God, I am trying to write my sermon for Good Shepherd Sunday and I keep singing Brother James’ Air and in particular those lines about goodness and mercy. The verb is apparently a really active one. Not so much follow as pursue. So I… Read More
Thursday Prayer: the eyebrows of Jesus!
Your bright, compassionate eyes look kindly on all who ask You for grace and mercy, in love. Blessed be Your eyes, eyelids and wonderful eyebrows! May Your lovely, kind vision be praised forever. Amen. Birgitta of Sweden in Incandescence (Butcher, 2005) Dear Jesus, To be fair, I have never considered your eyebrows, nor your intestines. So… Read More
Thursday Prayer: for mechanics and musicians
For mechanics and musicians we give you grateful thanks; For street-sweepers and statisticians we give you grateful thanks; For receptionists and researchers we give you grateful thanks; For bakers and candle-makers we give you grateful thanks; For bus drivers and baristas we give you grateful thanks; For planners and pattern-makers we give you grateful thanks;… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Heven
Dear God, The map was covered with our prayers: longing for a world where there is peace, enough food, wise and compassionate leaders, and a spirit of reconciliation. Help us to be like the child who wrote a different kind of label for the map: ‘heven’ trusting that your reign of justice and love is… Read More
Thursday Prayer: not even a sparrow
Dear God, As on so many days in our world, a lot of tragic things happened yesterday. You have counted the hairs on the head and know the names of each one who died in the school shooting in Florida and in the famine in the Yemen and in the war torn cities of the world… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Look Up
Dear God I wonder how often I miss the clues, the traces of your glory, the invitations to wonder, the opportunity to love more widely, to give more generously to encounter my neighbour more kindly. I am often busy: looking at my calendar, my to-do list, my inbox. I am worthily occupied: reading Scripture and… Read More
Thursday Prayer: like St Brigid
Brigid was the abbess of Kildare is significant as a saint to the Irish people. Little is known about her life, but the legends and stories about her portray her as holy and compassionate, with a deep love of the poor. She died about 525. Holy God, We thank you for our sister Brigid, and… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Like Anna and Simeon
Dear God, I have been thinking about Anna and Simeon, about how long they waited, how long they persevered. Give me perseverance. I am not always very good at hoping. I get all superstitious as if the act of hoping will make something less likely to happen (my mother said a watched pot never boils).… Read More
Thursday prayer: praying, trusting, hoping.
Dear God Today we are praying, praying with our hands: counting carol candles typing to-do lists putting crayons in containers sharing communion in hospitals and homes. Today we are praying, praying with our bodies: walking the dog packing food parcels dealing with laundry locating the Christmas star. Today we are praying, praying with our voices:… Read More
