Dear Lord,
We pray for elderly, housebound individuals, who are often very lonely.
We praise and thank you for their carers, who come into their homes and brighten their days by showing tenderness, kindness, and giving much needed practical support.
Make us more sensitive to the needs of both groups and move our hearts and minds to seek ways in which we may become involved.
Increase our awareness of the conditions under which carers do their work; often earning so little for such a valuable contribution and help us seek social justice for them.
Amen.

Almighty God,
Author and perfector of our lives,
you are God of all creation;
the moon and the stars sing your praises,
the rich and the poor revere you equally,
the joyous and the grief-stricken seek you equally,
the peace-lover and the warmonger look to you for strength for you are God!
You saved the world even before we knew we needed saving.
You provided for our needs even before we were aware of our nakedness.
Your grace amazes us,
your love fulfils us,
your forgiving presence instils hope and our suffering is eased.
Thank you for filling us with your vision.
Thank you for imbuing your wisdom upon us,
Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Receive our worship, hear our prayer;
for you are God. Amen!

Prayer is a cry in the dark,
a child’s longing for home,
and a hollowed soul’s seeking of fulfilment.
Prayer is a two-fingered salute
to the hopeless cynicism of endless false promises
and a bunting-waving celebration of love in action.
Prayer is a sacred space,
found in the midst of the unholiest of battlegrounds
and in the desolation of loss.
Prayer is a memory
of long lost conversations with wise elders
and an exuberance of youthful anticipation.
Prayer is a shared longing,
a whispered dream
and an open conversation.
Prayer is a revolutionary act
It is hope in despair
And a grace-filled weaving of love’s intent.
May God bless us with the desire to pray, that we might better act, for the sake of all. Amen.

Dear God, we pray that each one of us feels your presence now and every day, whatever the circumstances, time or place. May we all reflect you, in our own particular words, thoughts and deeds, in such a way that others too can come to feel and know your presence throughout the whole world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If we see the world through your eyes, Lord,
then we see a vision of our world as your love would have it:
a world where all who are weak are protected and none go hungry;
a world where your riches of creation are shared for everyone to enjoy them;
a world where mutual respect is expressed between different races and cultures and harmony descends;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it how you see it Lord!
That all may praise together and the only power exerted is the power of your love. Amen.

God of all understanding,
the more I learn about your holy justice
the more I realise that even my prayers can be
riddled with sin.
In praying for other people
I have thought that I know best what they need.
I have taken the seat of judgement
and found others wanting.
I have not challenged the ground
of my own understanding,
allowing prejudice and stereotypes
to flourish unchecked.
Forgive me.
Help me to kneel before your throne of grace
with both confidence and humility.
Remind me to leave the judging and directing to you.
Enable me to pray for others
not by way of the gulfs that divide us
but via the love in which you hold us all in common,
revealed to us in Jesus. Amen.

You are the One, the Holy One,
who looks on all you have made, with love.
You gaze at me, and your faithful kindness overwhelms me.
I fall silent before you, my words stalling,
as my heart breaks open and pours out my thanks, my delight in you.
The more I gaze back at you,
the more I see through your eyes;
I am born again in your devotion to your creation.
Let my words fall before you,
but grant me the words and the acts of love
you long for me to have for your world. Amen.

Peace is a rose.
So lovely, so delicate, so fragrant,
so easily crushed.
Holy God, let peace flower in our damaged world.
In parched places, let peace take root,
in broken places, let peace send forth strong shoots,
in barren places, let peace bud and bloom,
that all may see her beauty,
feel her softness,
be overcome by her gentle perfume,
and tend her.
Amen.

Loving God,
May all that we learn
from you and alongside one another,
challenge and transform our thoughts, words and deeds.
May your message dwell richly in our hearts.
May it be treasured.
May it pour out from us in expressions of praise, proclamation and protest.
Help us to listen to all who have been marginalised
to hear what cannot be spoken.
Prepare us for the times when your message will pierce and break our hearts.
Change us as we join in your work as your body here on earth.
In the name of the One who came as Teacher, Justice Seeker and Defender of the Oppressed. Amen.

God of all, we praise you for the life that you give us,
even when we cling to it by no more than our fingertips
and, in Jesus’ name, we protest the inequality created by human greed. Amen.