Prayer for this month
From Prayers for an Inclusive Church (Canterbury, 2008)
Easter Vigil and Easter Day (Matthew 28.1-10)
God of new creation,
from the womb of earth you raised the Lord of life:
may we receive the word of women
who braved the soldier’s spears
and met him in the dawning light;
may we live with morning joy
that love will never die,
through Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life.
Amen.
Easter Day (RCL and Church of England alternative: John 20.1-18)
God unlimited by mortal fear
or tomb’s cold grip:
in the lingering dark give us grace to know
your life triumphant
your love undimmed
in the face of Jesus Christ,
the firstborn from the dead.
Amen.
Easter 2 (John 20.19-31)
Alpha and Omega,
our beginning and our end,
you break through the locks
of gated communities
and hardened hearts:
accept our doubts,
heal our desire for certainty
and, by your Spirit’s gentle touch,
make us a people
forgiven and forgiving;
through Jesus Christ, the Giver of Peace.
Amen.
Easter 3 (Luke 24.13-35)
Lord of the gathering feast,
you walk with us
on the shadowed road:
burn our hearts
with scripture’s open flame;
unveil our darkened eyes
as bread is torn and shared
and from the broken fragments
bless a people for yourself;
through Jesus Christ, the host of the world.
Amen.
Easter 4 (John 10.1-10)
Life abundant, God of grace,
you call us by name
to live without fear:
in peace may we resist
all who kill and despoil your people,
that their hearts might be turned
to the only source of life;
through Jesus Christ, the gateway.
Amen.
Easter 5 (John 14.1-14)
Generous God, whose way is love,
whose truth is searching,
whose life is freely given
in Jesus Christ our Lord:
as you have opened for us
your house of many rooms,
so may we make a place
for the rejected and unloved,
and share the work of peace;
through Jesus Christ, the image of God.
Amen.
Easter 6 (John 14.15-21)
Trinity of love,
inviting us to abide in you:
may we follow the Spirit of truth
through desert wild and city street,
rutted field and snowbound height,
battleground and market square,
that your demanding love
might speak to the heart of the manifold world;
through Jesus Christ, our Brother.
Amen.
From Earth Cries Glory (Canterbury, 2019)
Blessing
Let the spirit hold
what the fire lit;
let the mind cherish
what the air inspired;
let the body embrace
what the earth nurtured;
Let the heart follow
where the water flows.
Let this blessing bind us to you,
who are fire of love, breath of life, body of birth, the everflowing heart.
Amen.
Prayers to to challenge, connect and transform
I’ve been writing prayers and liturgies informally and for publication for over two decades. As a priest in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, I believe the Church does theology through liturgy. In the space of our celebration, we are held in the presence of God and one another, and transformed by the movement of grace.
As a Christian committed to an inclusive church, I believe in prayers which challenge the boundaries we place around God’s grace and welcome.
Authorised forms of prayer will always be central to my own tradition, but there is also room for different unique voices and experiences to shape our praying. I hope my own small contributions can speak to a need to let God be heard in new ways.
Some of my collects are now approved for use in the Anglican Church of Canada.
Explore
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Prayers for an Inclusive Church
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The Earth Cries Glory
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The Verdant Mysteries
A set of scriptural reflections focusing on Mary and the beauty and worth of creation. Designed to accompany the Rosary.
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Marian Litany of Creation
A litany connecting Marian devotion with reverence for the earth., using titles for Mary drawn from the rich tradition of Christian typology.