8 January 2023

Let us pray.

We give thanks that God has spoken to us through the ages through prophets and then his Son and speaks to us today. We give thanks for the gift of prophecy and pray that we might have the integrity to distinguish between false and true prophets and have the courage to follow their teachings and thus bring about the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Stir us, O God, with your vibrant desire.

Move us, O God, to work for your justice.

Inspire us, O God, to active service.

Keep us, O God, from complacent indifference.

Challenge us, O God, with your compassion and mercy.

Take and shape us, O God,

to live and love as your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

As we start a new year, we give thanks for fresh opportunities to engage with people and communities on the edges of Church.  We pray for discernment in renewing our vocation as followers of Christ and offer all we have to the service of the Gospel.

Give to us, O Christ, your grace to welcome all

as if embracing you, for in strangers angels have been met.

Bless us in our encounters with others,

and may our hospitality be a treasure to lay before each guest,

for in serving them we serve you.

May the generosity of your love overflowing

bring us all to delight and flourish in your peace.

Amen.

Words from our second reading: “But you are the same, and your years will never end.”  We give thanks for the ever-flowing mercy and love of God for us, his creation, despite the times we fall short of his expectations for us.  We pray that we use our time on earth wisely.  We ask God to give us the push we need to step out into the darkness and put our hand into his.  We pray that those who are struggling find strength, that those who are lost find their way across their river Jordan.

Lord of time and eternity,

we stand on the threshold of a new year.

Strengthen our resolve

to dedicate our lives afresh in your service

leaving behind all that would distort your image within us

and lead us astray.

Keep us in peace,

guide us in justice,

sustain us through all this year may bring,

for in you is our hope and our salvation,

our lasting joy and fulfilment

through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

We pray for those struggling, in a wilderness, a desert, distanced from God and each other, for the sick in body, mind or spirit, and for those who support them.  We pray that those who are crossing the Jordan into the promised land of eternal life.

Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening,

into the house and gate of heaven,

to enter into that gate, and dwell in that house where there shall be

no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light;

no noise nor silence, but one equal music;

no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession;

no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity;

in the habitation of thy glory and dominion,

world without end.

Amen.

And as the Cathedral of the Sea, we pray for all those at sea this night/day/evening and for those whose task it is to support them in their work.

Creator and Father of all, we pray for those who go down to the sea in ships and serve upon the waters of the world.

Bless them and those who serve their needs,

that they may put their trust in you

and find in you a strong anchor for their hopes

and so be filled with your peace

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Joining together the prayers said aloud and in the silence of our hearts, we say The Grace:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

be with us all, evermore.

Amen.