September
2007
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January 2007
Christmas
2006
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Easter
March
2004
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April
March
February
January
2003
September 2007
Anon
O Thou in whose great arms
All the children of earth are embraced,
Here in thy presence we remember
our kinship with all human kind.
We rejoice for those who are in
full health and strength,
Whose ways are ways of pleasantness
and peace.
Our hearts reach out toward those
whose ways are ways of suffering,
of body, mind, or soul.
May it be that thou shalt find us
reaching out to them
Not only with our hearts but with
our hands also,
To help them in the bearing of
their burdens,
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January, Prayer for Homelessness
Sunday
Anon
(January 28 is Homelessness Sunday and this month we remember
all those who do not have a secure roof over their head)
God of Justice
Have mercy on those who sleep...
on the streets or in hostels
on the floor or on a sofa,
In store rooms or offices,
and those who know their friends'
hospitality is at breaking point.
Help us build a fairer society,
Where having no home does not exclude
anyone from work and health and respect.
Help us to build a societywhere all may 'dwell in
safety'.
In the name of the homeless saviour Jesus
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Christmas
- Oh Little Town of Bethlehem 2006
after Philip Brookes
(This Christmas we remember the town of Bethlehem and all who
suffer there today with an update version of a favourite carol)
Oh little town of Bethlehem
how still we see thee lie.
Above they deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
the everlasting light.
the hopes and fears of all the years,
are met in thee tonight.
2006
In Bethlehem tonight a child
lies crying in the cold,
no welcoming, no angels sing,
no Kings will bring him gold.
And wise men ride in from the east,
and west and south and north,
they bring him gifts of hate and fear
as guns and bombs pour forth.
His mother Mary gentle, mild,
must hide by night and day,
for terror stalks this Holy Land
and evil still holds sway.
And Christmas time is here again
Our streets are paved with light,
The tills they ring, and children sing,
but God is not in sight.
Oh Holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us we pray,
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.
And as we celebrate your birth
give us the grace to see,
for peace to spread o'er the earth,
it must begin with me.
Liz Baker 2007
after Philip Brookes 1835 - 93
Link
to Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor Thought for The Day from Bethlehem.
(This link is to a BBC site and may be time limited)
Requires real player - free from www.bbc.co.uk
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July - a celtic prayer
There is no plant in the ground
But is full of His virtue,
There is no form in the strand
But is full of His blessing
There is no Life in the sea,
There is no life in the river,
There is naught in the Firmament,
but proclains His goodness.
There is no bird on the wing,
There is no star in the sky,
There is nothing beneath the sun,
But proclaims His goodness.
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Easter Prayers "Make poverty
History" (Easter 2005)
Lord, you ask us in your name to
Feed the hungry,
Clothe the naked
Shelter the unsheltered
Find homes for the homeless,
Freedom for the oppressed
And give dignity and respect
To the poor
WE pray that each day,
We make the choices and
take the actions
that will bring an end to poverty
and hunger and lead us all
towards a fairer world.
Amen
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MAKE POVERTY HISTORY Website
The Golden Rule "Love thy neighbour
as thyself"(March 2005)
This universal message is found in many forms in many faiths.
Here are some examples
Do not treat others in ways that you youself would find
hurtful
(The Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18)
In everything, do to others as you would have them do to
you.
(Jesus Christ, Matthew7.12)
This is the sum of duty:do not to others what would cause
pain if done to you.
(Mahabharata 5:1517)
Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others
what you wish for yourself.
(The prophet Muhammad, Hadith)
What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbour.
(Hillel, Talmud, Shabbath 31a)
Regard your neighbour's gain as your own gain and your
neighbour's loss as your own loss.
(T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien, 213-218)
These were cited by Wendy Tyndale, "Idealism and Practicality.
The Role of religion in development, vol.46 no4 (December 2003)
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a Hindu prayer
(October 2004)
In Sanskrit
Asatho Maa, sad gamaya,
Tamaso Maa, Jyoti gamaya
Mrithyor Maa, Amritham gamaya
Aum santhi, santhi, santhi
English translation
Dear Lord
Lead me from unreality to reality
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from mortality to immortality
Let there be peace, peace, peace.
Peace is said 3 times. Once for the mind, once for the body,
once for the head.
With grateful thanks to Varsha Mistry and the Milton Keynes
Hindu community.
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BEGINNINGS
We need a new beginning.
Have you heard the news lately?
We have taken our beautiful world, beautiful skies; seas; rivers;
Beautiful mountains; trees; birds;
Beautiful flowers; animals; people.
We have taken this beautiful planet and made a real mess of it.
Everything that is beautiful is in danger of becoming tawdry, worn
down, broken.
We need a new beginning.
What would come first, what did come first? What was the very first
colour?
Light, the colour of light! Yellow!
Let's take some yellow and add the next colour - blue for the waters!
Yellow and blue, I know, let's mix them together to create green
for all the trees and fields.
And let's take red for the good rich earth!
From just these three we can make all the rainbows for our brand
new world.
We need a new beginning.
Light began everything before - without light there is nothing.
Our beautiful new world will need light, we need light, to live
in and to breath in.
Just a tiny light can conquer volumes of darkness, just a tiny light
of illumination.
Breath in light, breath in light, be filled with light and feel
enlightenment.
You and you, and me, if we each make our light shine we can change
the world.
The darkness will be forced away, the light of the world will never
be extinguished,
We will have our new beginning.
Copyright: K Wheldon May2004
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Special Prayer for Christian Aid Week
The sun,offers its gift of warmth,
The sea offers its gift of water,
The Mountains give their coolness and their beauty,
the breeze refreshes creation.
And we too bring our gifts so that all may have life.
Lord, use them to fill the world with peace and justice,
so that every home can have its daily bread
Amen
reprinted from Christian Aid order of service
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Easter April 2004
PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM
This year our theme for Holy Week and Easter is 'Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem', this is especially poignant as Marcus
Armstrong (a member of the Well Community) is in The Holy Land working
as a peacekeeper at this time.
We hope you will join us in our prayers to support Christians, Jews
and Muslims who live and suffer in the place where Jesus lived and
suffered using this prayer from a leaflet produced by:
Amos Trust www.amostrust.org
Christians Aware www.christiansaware.co.uk
May the Justice of God
Fall down like fire
And bring a home
For the Palestinian
May the mercy of God
Pour down like rain
And protect the Jewish people
And may the beautiful eyes
Of a holy God
Who weeps for all his children
Bring the healing hopes
For his wounded ones
For the Jew and the Palestinian
So pray for the peace
Pray for the peace
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
Lent March/April 2004
Lenten Prayer
Lent comes from an old word meaning spring. In the Christian
Church, it's the forty days before Easter. During Lent, Christians
renew their own commitment to God and ive thanks for God's love
and forgiveness.
As your own Angels
As your own saints
As your own household
Desire in heaven,
So may I desire on Earth.
Carmina Gadelica
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February
2004
Peace flowing outward and peace flowing in,
Draw peace from the centre in which we begin;
Find peace in the evening, the close of the day;
Let peace in the heart wipe evil away.
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January 2004 (with apologies for
missing December)
I do not stand alone
but with others to support me
I will stand my ground
I do not see the way
but with others to walk it with me
I can make a path
I do not speak fearlessly
But with others who will listen
I will learn to speak truly
I do not possess the truth
but with others to witness to what they know
I will be able to discern what is right
I do not understand all things
but with others who will share their wisdom
I will know what is needed
I cannot master all skills
but with others who will lend their accomplishments
I can do enough
I cannot carry every burden
but with others to share it
I may bear my own load
I cannot be all things to all people
but with others to work with me
I can be someone significant to those I am called to serve
I cannot meet all needs
but with others to nourish and replenish me
I will be able to give enough
I do not have limitless free choice
but with others to consult
I will make my choices gladly
I will not always be consistent
but with others to laugh with me
I will regain my equanimity
I am not invincible
but with others to reach out a hand
I may learn from my mistakes and start again
I cannot be perfect
but with others to make up the shortfall of my imperfections
I can be content to be good enough.
©Nicola Slee
by kind permission of The Cairns Network
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Beannacht (November December 2003)
(for Josie)
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the curach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
John O'Donohue
Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World
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October 2003
Prayer of St Basil
REVERENCE FOR CREATION
Enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things,
our brothers the animals to whom thou gavest the earth as their
home in common with us.
We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high
dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth,
which should have gone up to thee in song, has been a groan of travail.
May we realize that they live not for us alone but for themselves
and for thee, and that they love the sweetness of life.
Basil the Great, c.330-379
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