Kirk joins in prayer ahead of anniversary of first lockdown

(n.b. if you're looking for Sunday service of worship,
scroll down to the previous post!)

You're invited by the Moderator, the Rev. Dr Martin Fair, to take a moment for prayer and reflection at 7pm on Sunday, ahead of the first anniversary of the lockdown on the 23rd of March. 

If you find it helpful, you may wish to light a candle...

The following is copied from the Church of Scotland website...

“On the anniversary of the first lockdown on 23 March, we will undoubtedly reflect on all that has happened in the past year and acknowledge the profound impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had upon us personally and communally.

There is not one of us who has not felt the impact of these times in one way or another. Above all else, we shall acknowledge the loss of life and recognise that behind each number recorded there lies a person whose life is known to God and who is mourned by those who have loved them.

In their passing, we are the poorer. In the remembrance of a life given by God, we are the richer.

The Letter to the Hebrews records that:

‘In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears’ 

                                                                                                                                   Hebrews 5: 7

Jesus is called to take the place of the one who offers prayers on behalf of us all, and does so with ‘cries and tears’ because He Himself has ‘suffered’ (Hebrews 5: 5-10). He shares in the suffering of the world and brings the suffering of the world before God.

In all our reflections at this time, we remember the One who prayed for us in ‘the days of his flesh’ and who, even now, lives to pray for us once more.”

Prayer

We pray:

Living God, in whose image we are made,

Hear us we ask, through Your Son who prays for us.

Hear us, as we recall all we have endured as community and nation

In the year that has passed.

Lord, in Your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Living God, who knows us in all our suffering,

Hear us we ask, through Your Son who prays for us.

Hear us, as we reflect across the nation

And remember those who have suffered the deepest loss.

Lord, in Your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Living God, whose name is Love,

Hear us we ask, through Your Son who prays for us.

Hear us, as we reach out our hand to those who suffer still

And stand with them in the face of all that is to come.

Lord, in Your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Living God, who gives good gifts to all Creation,

Hear us we ask, through Your Son who prays for us.

Hear us, as we give thanks for those who, in hospital and in care home,

Have cared for the dying and the sick.

Lord, in Your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Living God, who inspires hope,

Hear us we ask, through Your Son who prays for us.

Hear us, as we acknowledge and give thanks for all who have created the vaccines

That give hope to the peoples of all nations.

Lord, in Your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Living God, who gives light to the world, even in the face of darkness,

Hear us we ask, through Your Son who prays for us.

Hear us, as we bow in the presence of the One who,

In the days of His flesh, shed tears for us.

Lord, in Your mercy,

Hear our prayer.
                    Amen.