Sustain me, O God, this day by your grace, and remind me (again, as you so graciously do), that self-reliance is not a Gospel virtue. Amen Jemma Allen is a priest in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. She works as a counsellor and spiritual director in private practice. RevGalBlogPals… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Being present
As the day begins with all that lies ahead of me you, O God, are present. Help me also to be present. In morning routines, or morning chaos, you, O God, are present. Help me also to be present. In difficult conversations, in comforting words, you, O God, are present. Help me also to be… Read More
Thursday Prayer: time zones
Dear God, There are less than three hours left of my Thursday, but as the earth turns and the sun rises on the horizon over and over and over again, RevGals and Pals all over the world will begin their day, their Thursday. My day included conversations about: resources for reading the Bible, the power… Read More
Thursday Prayer: Our brother, the Ethiopian Eunuch
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
