Intercessory Prayers at Opoho on 24th January by Abby Smith

We turn to you, our God, to give thanks.

It’s summer and everything is glorious.  It’s warm and there’s time to work in the garden.  There is light long into the evening.  We turn our faces to you, O God, in thanksgiving.

Birds are singing and flying and building nests.  Little creatures scuffle in the bushes.  Bigger animals stand in the fields and let the sun warm their backs.  Bees hum, and cats go out at night.  We turn our faces to you, O God, in thanksgiving.

People stand up straighter now that it’s not so cold.  We wear our summer clothes, and our summer faces.  People who are sick feel a little better.  People who are sad begin to hear music again.  People get together.  We turn our faces to you, O God, in thanksgiving.

We don’t know how to express the depth of our gratitude for the summer, for the sun and sky, for life on Earth, for our whanau and our community and each other.  You give us so much, and we can find no words adequate to express our thanks.

We turn our faces to you, O God, in the silence.

[time]

We turn to you, our God, for help..

There have always been battles, it seems like there always will be fighting.  We turn to you.  Help us to change how we disagree, to replace bombs and guns with words and ideas.  No one person can do it, but together in the communion of your spirit, maybe we all can.  We turn our faces to you, O God, for help.

There have always been strangers and drifters and victims and homeless, it seems like there always will be refugees.  We turn to you.  Help us to change how we respond to each other, to replace fear and distrust with kindness and welcome.  No one person can do it, but together in the communion of your spirit, maybe we all can. We turn our faces to you, O God, for help.

There have always been people without enough to live, it seems like there always will be misery.  We turn to you.  Help us to challenge how we distribute resources, to replace profit and entitlement with generosity and equality.  No one person can do it, but together in the communion of your spirit, maybe we all can. We turn our faces to you, O God, for help.

We turn our faces to you, O God, in the silence.

[time]

Here in our church, here in each other’s company, here in your arms, and everywhere else, as always, we turn to you, our God, and not in vain.

Amen.