Prayers of Intercession: Second Sunday After Epiphany

Prayers of Intercession: Second Sunday after Epiphany

January 15, 2017 With the words, Hear us, Oh God you are invited to respond Your mercy is great.

Resting in the "forever and ever" of your strong arms, we pray for your church, your world, and those in need. a brief silence Baby Jesus, you came in helplessness and grew into exalted humanity. Bless those who tell the story: Bishop Greg and the congregations of our synod. Today we pray especially for Hills of Peace in Kamloops and Pastor Jane Gingrich and for our missionary in Peru, Pastor Yoli Zavaleta, and our missionary in Argentina Pastor Andrea Baez. Enlighten the work of our partnership with the Anglican Church of Canada. Bless Bishop (name) of the Diocese of (name). Hear us, Oh God

Your mercy is great Baby Jesus, raise up in us holy helplessness and the fullness of humanity. Feed us with the bread and wine that comes from our earth and symbolizes our sacred calling to care for and share the water, food, fair weather, and beauty that nourishes all we know of you. Hear us, Oh God

Your mercy is great Baby Jesus, grow in us wisdom and courage that we, like you, can choose what is good and right and true. Open our minds and our best thinking that we do not back away from the hard things. Help us to live your will as global citizens faced with Aleppo, displaced peoples around the globe, and the shifting tensions of power struggles among the nations.

Hear us, Oh God Your mercy is great

Baby Jesus, let us imagine you in our arms, teasing tenderness from our hearts by your small frailty. And then grow that tenderness into a fierce caring for friends and neighbours, strangers, and our own inner child. We pray especially for those who have requested your care and strength (name those on the prayer list)

Hear us, Oh God Your mercy is great Baby Jesus, let us watch you grow in the lives of people in this congregation. People who have claimed your name and seek to serve by making this community thrum with connection and caring, and by taking your compassionate out into their world day by day. Hear us, Oh God

Your mercy is great Baby Jesus, you came so quietly, so small as did we all. And you were called to live out God's footprint of abiding love and acceptance. You call us all to a special and unique way of being yours in this world of ours. Let us find our calling, embrace it, revel in it even when it hurts. We remember especially Martin Luther King, Jr. whose journey on behalf of the equality of all races cost him his life and gave new life to hundreds of thousands. Hear us, Oh God

Your mercy is great In the name of that great Trinity Father-Mother God, Jesus the Christ, and the hovering spirit. Amen