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John 13:34          CEV
‘But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you’.

Gracious God, as we begin a new week, we turn to You with sadness having witnessed the appalling online abuse of footballers, simply for the colour of their skin. We pray that all those in positions of power and authority will work tirelessly to put an end to this intolerance. Help us as communities to promote understanding, equality, respect and kindness for all its citizens. May we follow the example of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to treat our neighbour as we would wish to be treated, with respect and with love.
Lord God, today is a new day, at the start of a new week. And so we bring before you our hopes and aspirations, our concerns and anxieties, our opportunities and our challenges, but most of all, we bring ourselves in service to You. Thank you for the security of knowing that You journey with us every second of the day, and that we do everything in Your strength, and in Your presence. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

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Ephesians 5:20
‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’.

Gracious God, as we approach the end of the week, we bring our prayers before You. As we take a moment of quiet, we reflect upon, and thank You for Your unfailing presence with us. For the times we have laughed and You have shared joy with us, we give thanks. For the times we have worried and You have held us close, we give thanks. For the times we have questioned or felt uncertain and You have guided us, we give thanks. For the times we have been sad and You have dried our tears, we give thanks. Lord God, we know that You are a God who is with us, who is there waiting to support and sustain us. At all times, whatever the situation, help us to continue to be assured of Your presence and place our trust in You. This weekend, as we see our nation unite in response to international sport, we pray for unity in our communities and across all nations. Lord God, we know that You created us to be a people of love, of mutual understanding, and a people that care for one another, across all boundaries. And so, may the power of Your Holy Spirit work through us to transmit love and peace in our world. We bring all our prayers before You in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

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Exodus 3:13-14
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”  God said to Moses, “I am who I am.

Gracious God, as we come to You this morning we reflect upon the challenges of waiting and expectation. The expectation of football victory after years of waiting, the expectation of ‘Freedom Day’ after months of waiting for restrictions to lift. Emotions run high as we sense the next stage of a journey filled with expectation, uncertainty, opportunity, potential disappointment and challenge. And so it is good and right this morning to come to You, Lord God, to remind ourselves of the certainty and the fulfilment of all our expectations through You, our Creator God. As qualities of leadership are discussed and scrutinised in every corner of society, in Jesus Christ, Your Son, we see the One who epitomises the very core of leadership, a man who showed us how to respond with wisdom, with empathy, with integrity and with love, who exceeded all expectations when He said ‘Come to me and I will give you life in all its fulness, I will give you peace’. And so amidst the turmoils of the day we come to You, and we give thanks, Amen.

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Genesis 1:21:25
‘God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good’.

Gracious God, in the midst of everything that is happening in our lives today, as conversations continue over our lifestyles and restrictions due to the pandemic, we pause for a moment to consider the welfare of the amazing animal Kingdom You have created, a world of diversity, beauty, power and majesty. We pray especially today for the work of the Aspinall Foundation, The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Kenya Wildlife Service, who will begin to transport a herd of 13 elephants, from captivity in the UK, to living in the wild in a reserve in Southern Kenya. We appreciate that this is the biggest project of its kind in the world and not without its risks, but we pray that all logistical arrangements will go smoothly and that the elephants will arrive safely in their new home. Lord God, we have had a taste of what it is to lose our freedoms and so, we give thanks for the amazing work of all Animal Foundations, who seek to ensure that wild animals have the opportunity to roam free, in safe settings. We ask for Your blessing upon the work of all conservation projects across our world. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

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Psalm 98:4
‘Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises’.

Gracious God, this morning we give thanks for the gift and the pleasure of music. As the news filters through of the return to communal singing, our hearts literally fill with joy.  We pray for a safe return for our concert houses, theatres and music halls. We give thanks for the joy this will bring to many people. But so too, we lift before you all musicians and those working in the music industry, whose livelihoods and leisure time have been so severely affected by the pandemic, acknowledging how difficult the last year has been, both financially and emotionally. We recognise the loss of employment for many freelance musicians and pray that communities will continue to support and sustain them in the months ahead, as they seek to rebuild their careers.
God of song, harmony and sound, may we, Your people, lift up our voices in praise to You, for Your love, Your assurance and Your presence. In joyful song, we give thanks. Amen.

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Matthew 25:40
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Gracious God, we lift before You this morning the work of our NHS as we celebrate its 73rd birthday. We appreciate that it has been an unprecedented year for all those working within this great institution, and that pressures continue on a daily basis with ever increasing demands upon its services. And so, we give thanks for the 1.3 million people who support and sustain its work, be that in the sectors of medical care, administration, hospitality, scientific research, logistics or pastoral support. We pray for resilience, skill, wisdom and strength for all those who give of themselves, to provide well-being and healing for our nation. We pray especially for those whose own health has been affected by the pressures and challenging circumstances of the past year. We remember too, those who lost their lives to Covid whilst caring for others. We pray for comfort and assurance for their families as they grieve. God of healing, love and compassion, may Your presence be felt in every part of our amazing NHS this day and in the days to come and may we always give thanks. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

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Psalm 118:1
‘Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever’.

Gracious God, as our first national ‘Thank you’ day will be celebrated tomorrow, we take a moment today to reflect upon all those who have touched our lives over the past year. For those who have supported our emotional needs, we give thanks. For those who have supported our physical well-being, we give thanks. For those who have fed us spiritually, we give thanks. Lord God, we know that when we follow the example of Your Son Jesus, when we reach out in love to others, and allow ourselves to be loved in return, we become whole and we find peace. And so, we ask for Your blessing upon our nation, and all nations across the world. May the acts of giving and thankfulness unite us and empower us to create communities rooted in love. For all Your blessings to us, loving God, we give thanks. Amen.

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Hebrews 4:16        NIV
‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need’.

Gracious God, this morning we give thanks for the gift of Your Grace. We acknowledge that Grace is a word that we use so freely, but so often underestimate the power and awesomeness of its truth. Through the power of Your Grace, we are accepted for simply being who we are, precious to You. Through the power of Your Grace, we can be forgiven of the things we may do that separate us from being the people You would have us be. Through the power of Your Grace, we can truly find a sense of peace in the most turbulent of days. Through the power of Your Grace, we are truly and immeasurably loved. And so Lord God, help us today to receive this Grace with glad and thankful hearts. Help us to use the knowledge of this Grace to deepen our relationship with You through the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ, and in the life-giving power of Your Holy Spirit. Finally God of love, help us to witness to Your Grace in our relationships with others. May our relationships with one another be rooted in kindness and generosity. Our world needs Grace. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

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Mark 12:31   ESV
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Gracious God, we lift before You this morning the conversations and deliberations of the Methodist Church Conference, as they consider reshaping our policies regarding marriage and relationships. We realise that this is an emotive subject, but we pray for mutual respect of one another’s opinions and that You, our God, will be at the centre of this process. So too, this morning we pray for relationships, those in the home, the workplace, the neighbourhood, the wider community and the World Church. May we turn to the example of Your Son Jesus Christ who witnessed to relationships built on trust, empathy, compassion and equality. We pray and reach out especially to those who are subject to abuse within a relationship, in whatever form that takes. As communities may we support those in need at this time and may their voices be heard and listened to.
As Your people, today, may God in Love, Unite us. Amen.

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1 Chronicles 16:11    ESV

‘Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!’

Gracious God, in a week when we see the number of pupils in schools being sent home soar, due to covid cases, we pray for all staff, pupils and their families. We know that we cannot begin to imagine how stressful the past months have been for all schools, dealing with the disruption of our children’s education. We recognise too the tremendous impact this has had on the well-being of staff and pupils alike, and so too the difficulties that have arisen for working parents. And so, we pray for resilience and assurance for all staff and pupils in the final weeks of the summer term. We pray that those in positions of authority will do whatever they can to support schools and their leadership teams, in dealing with the current situation and we pray for stability in the autumn term to come. May Your presence be felt in every school and every home. For the dedication and commitment of all those who work in our schools to ensure our young people are nurtured and educated, we give grateful thanks. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen