Category: Call to Prayer & Reflections

Call to Prayer: Sunday 7^th February 2021 Print version

Prayer @ 7pm

At this time, we are those who wait. In common with every member of our community and our nation, we are those who wait for the renewal of life within the families and communities of which we are a part. The time of waiting has now exceeded anything we might have imagined as we began the first Lockdown, and as we wait many have grown weary.

The prophet Isaiah speaks to a people who have waited and whose time of waiting has exceeded anything they might have imagined. (Isaiah 40: 21-31) During the time of waiting, the people of Israel have grown weary. To those people, the word of the Lord comes through the prophet and they are given a vision of ‘the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth’ who ‘does not faint or grow weary’. Even in the longest times, the word of the Lord speaks to those who have come to the end of their strength with the assurance that:

‘those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint’. (Isaiah 40: 31)

We are those who wait and our waiting is not in vain. We pray:

Everlasting God,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
We are those who wait
And we confess that we have grown weary.
Speak to us we ask and hear our cry.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
We are those who wait
And who have come to the end of our own strength.
Lift up the weary and strengthen the powerless.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
We are those who wait
And who have heard your Word echo in our hearts.
Grant us grace for this time and faith to believe your promise.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
We are those who wait
And who ask that your promise will be fulfilled.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Everlasting God,
Creator of the ends of the earth,
We are those who wait
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

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Prayer @ 7pm

The remembering of the past is an integral part of what it is to be human. In our remembering, we recall the persons and the events that have shaped us and made us who we are. In the act of remembering, we often seek to make sense of and come to terms with the past. In the depths of our remembering, we acknowledge and lament loss. At this particular time, we are profoundly conscious of the depth of loss within the communities and nation of which we are a part.

In the Book of Psalms, the Psalmist affirms that God ‘remembers’ and that, in particular, God remembers the covenant made with the people of God. The One who forges a relationship with the people of God, is the One who remembers the covenant forever. (Psalm 111: 5) In our remembering, we recall the One who remembers us and does not forget all that we endure in these hard times. We pray:

God who remembers,
Be with us in our remembering this day.
Be with us on the journey
That takes us from the past
And into the future that lies before us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who remembers,
Be with us in our remembering this day.
Be with as we recall those who have shaped us
And the events that have made us.
Grant to us grace and healing in all we recall.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who remembers,
Be with us in our remembering this day.
Be with us in sorrow and in loss
And come beside all who mourn this day.
Come beside us and do not leave us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who remembers,
Be with us in our remembering this day.
Be with those who serve in hospitals and in homes
And who, by their medical and nursing skills,
Provide comfort and hope to those who suffer.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who remembers,
Be with us in our remembering this day.
Be with us as community and nation
And strengthen us in all we endure.
Even in the darkness, may we find your light renewed through Jesus Christ.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

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“In the Gospel of John, Jesus prays for all those who have come to believe in him ‘that they may all be one…so that the world may believe’ that he has been sent by the Father. (John 17: 20-21)

“As we reflect upon this, we see Jesus Christ as the One who intercedes for us before the living God and who enables us to approach God through him. In the times in which we live this offers a profound reassurance: Jesus Christ is the One whose prayer sustains the life of the people of God.

“The times in which we live are ones in which discord and division are all too often to the fore. In times such as these, the people of God are called to bear witness to the reconciling work of Christ that breaks down the walls that divide us. As we reflect upon the words of John 17, we are called to live out our response to the prayer of Jesus that we ‘may all be one…that the world may believe’.”

We pray:

Lord our God, You are One
And your Son prays that your people may be one.
As your Son prays for us,
May we share in the life of Christ
And in the hope of the resurrection.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God, You are One
And your Son prays that your people may be one.
As your Son prays for us,
May we know that we are members of the body of Christ
And that we share in the one Spirit.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God, You are One
And your Son prays that your people may be one.
As your Son prays for us,
May we know that he is our peace
And that he has broken down the walls that divide us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God, You are One
And your Son prays that your people may be one.
As your Son prays for us,
May we know that we have been reconciled to God
And that the task of reconciliation has been entrusted to us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God, You are One
And your Son prays that your people may be one.
As your Son prays for us,
May your people be one
That the world may believe.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

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As we journey into the year to come, we find ourselves once more in a desert place and in that place there are many who are deeply uncertain as to what the year will bring. At this time, there are many who feel locked out of the pattern that has previously shaped their lives and the absence of that pattern can be profoundly unsettling. Yet even in the most uncertain of times, there are moments of discovery, and rediscovery, where we are shaped by a new pattern. As this takes place, we are renewed and affirmed as those who are made in the image of God.

The Gospel of Mark opens by taking us to a desert place and in that desert place there takes place a renewal signified in baptism which marks the beginning of new life. Indeed, Jesus Christ himself comes to the waters of the River Jordan to be baptised. As he does so, he hears the words of affirmation: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ (Mark 1: 4-11) In our own desert place, may we find renewal, affirmation and the living presence of God.

We pray:

Living God,
Be with us in the desert place
And renew us as those who are made in your image.
Hear us as we call to you
And answer our cry.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Be with us in the desert place
And meet us in the place of suffering.
Hear us as we call to you
And bring healing to the broken.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Be with us in the desert place
And come beside those who are sorrowing.
Hear us as we call to you
And have compassion upon us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Be with us in the desert place
And lead us to the places of discovery and rediscovery.
Hear us as we call to you
And reshape the pattern of our lives.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
Be with us in the desert place
And may we know that Christ is with us.
Hear us as we call to you
And lead us to the place where we hear your word of affirmation.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

Scottish Church Leaders have joined together to produce a Christmas Message video.

Two minutes of a topical take on the Christmas story.

4^th Sunday in Advent

Prayer @ 7pm  Print version

The words of the angel to Mary bring this assurance: ‘The Lord is with you.’ (Luke 1: 28) The words are clear and unequivocal: ‘The Lord is with you.’

Nevertheless, Mary is ‘perplexed’ and clearly fearful as she tries to comprehend the words spoken to her. The message of the angel that she is to become the bearer of the Christ-child leads her to ask: ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’  In response, the angel speaks of the promise of the Spirit and Mary affirms and embraces the promise: ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ (Luke 1: 26-38) It is as if Mary hears and embraces the first words spoken to her: ‘The Lord is with you.’

As we come near to the point where the promise of the Advent season is fulfilled in the birth of the Christ-child, we are conscious of the renewed challenges we face within the communities of which we are a part. In the face of this, each one of us longs to know the assurance of the promise: ‘The Lord is with you.’ In the perplexities and challenges of the times, and to each one of us, the words of assurance are spoken. The Lord is with us and we are invited to embrace the promise of the Christ-child who is to come.

We pray:

Lord, draw near to us
And to all who long to hear your Word.
We give thanks that the promise of the Advent season
Will soon be fulfilled in the birth of the Christ-child.
May we embrace the promise and share in the hope it brings.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, draw near to us
And to all who long to hear your Word.
We pray for the lonely and the perplexed;
For the anxious and the fearful.
Be near to them as you are to us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, draw near to us
And to all who long to hear your Word.
We pray for the families and communities of which we are a part
And for our Nation.
Sustain us in these times and renew us in times to come.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, draw near to us
And to all who long to hear your Word.
We give thanks that, in all things, you are with us
And we embrace once more the promise of the Christ-child.
May the light of Christ shine in the darkness and bring hope to the world.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

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3^rd Sunday in Advent

Prayer @ 7pm

At this time, we find ourselves deeply conscious of the challenges that we still face and yet also of the hope that lies on the horizon. It is as if we have journeyed through a time of darkness and deep uncertainty with no seeming end in sight. Then, even as darkness seemed set to engulf us once more, a light has dawned and has brought hope to the world and to the community of all peoples.

In the past we have prayed:

Lord, we pray for scientists and researchers;
For those seeking to understand the challenge we face;
For those creating potential vaccines;
For those advising decision-makers.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Notwithstanding the challenges we still face, we give thanks to God for those who have created the vaccines that have the potential to restore life to the communities of which we are all a part.

As we continue on in our Advent journey, we hear of a witness who has come ‘to testify to the light’. The light is not yet with us but the messenger comes to bear witness to the ‘true light’ of God that will soon break into our world. (John 1: 6-9) Even now, the light breaks on the horizon for the light of God is coming into our world once more. We pray:

Lord, we are your people who have journeyed in darkness
And who long to see your light once more.
We are those who have journeyed through hard times
And who long to see life and community renewed.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we give thanks for scientists and researchers
And for those who have created the vaccines that give hope to the world.
We pray for the just sharing of these precious gifts
And for the renewal of life in every nation.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we are those who journey on
Towards the horizon where light shall surely break.
We journey in times where we are distanced
And trust that in time the distance shall be overcome.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for those who care for the living
And for the dying.
We pray for the bereaved and for the bereft
And ask that you would draw near to them in your compassion.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we are those who have heard
O the true light that is coming into the world.
We ask that we might become your messengers
And bear witness to Jesus Christ, the light of God that is to come.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

The Methodist Conference has declared 2020/2021 a year of prayer so that our Church-wide commitments to evangelism, church growth, church at the margins, and pioneering and church planting will flow from a deep, contemplative orientation to God’s grace and love.

Be part of this movement of prayer as we ask the Holy Spirit to help us be a growing, evangelistic, inclusive, justice-seeking Church of gospel people.

As part of this call to join a movement of prayer Rev Mark Slaney, Chair of the Methodist Church in Scotland (Scotland District / Shetland District) is releasing the first in a short series of ‘how to’ videos aimed at helping you develop and deepen your practice of prayer.

Video One: What’s in a name? is now on YouTube

2^nd Sunday in Advent. Prayer @ 7pm

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 ‘Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.’ God speaks and the word spoken is a word of comfort to the people of God. The word is spoken to those who feel that they are powerless and to those who are wearied and exhausted by all that they have endured. Thereafter, the words of Isaiah take us out into the wilderness and, if we listen with open hearts, we will find ourselves in that place and hear a voice crying out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Even in the wilderness, we are called to prepare so that, in times to come, we might see the presence of God renewed in our midst. (Isaiah 40: 1-11)

The words are taken up again in the beginning of the Gospel of Mark as a messenger announces the coming of Jesus Christ. In every age, and in every time, the words resonate if we listen with open hearts. (Mark 1: 1-8) God speaks and the word spoken is a word of comfort for our age and our times. We embrace and hold fast to the word spoken to us through our Saviour Jesus Christ. We pray:

Living God,
In this season of Advent,
Speak to us words of comfort.
Speak that we might hear
And, as we do so, find comfort and strength renewed.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
In this season of Advent,
Speak to us as we read the signs of the times.
Speak, that we might understand the times,
And know, even now, your presence restored in our midst.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
In this season of Advent,
Speak to us in the wilderness.
Speak, even in the hard places,
And teach us to mark out the places where you have met with us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
In this season of Advent,
Speak to us that we might learn of the rough ground made level.
Speak of the rugged places made plain
And of the time when we shall hear it proclaimed again that the Lord is coming!
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Living God,
In this season of Advent,
Speak to the lonely and to the bereaved.
Speak to the anxious and to the fearful
And carry us as the shepherd carries the lamb, even Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)