Prayers of Intercession - Dreams and Wonders

The Dream, Marc Chagall, 1931

Prayers of Intercession for Morning Prayer on Saturday 5th November 2022 at St Augustine’s College of Theology, based on text from Daniel 4.1-18 and Revelation 4. 

The prayers of intercession this morning take the form of a litany. The response to each petition is “We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.”

Prayer - Lord, bless this summertime

Man in a hammock,  Albert Gleizes 1913

A prayer written for Morning Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 27th July 2022.

Lord, bless this summer time.
May we encounter you in the light of the morning and the lengthening of days; 
in the warmth of the sun on every grain of sand;
in the shapes of the clouds blowing across the sky;  
in the sumptuousness of the simplest picnic; the beauty of a blade of grass;
in the droplets of water on a cool drink in a glass. 
in the fellowship of a band performing in the round;
in the heat of the journey and the joy of the touch down.

Lord,
Lighten our lives. 
Warm our hearts.
Move us by your Spirit.
Feed our senses.
Refresh and renew us.
Gather us together.
Draw us to you. 
Lord, bless this summertime.

Amen. 

Further Prayers for Morning Prayer on Wednesday 25th May 2022

Almond Blossoms, Vincent van Gogh, 1890

Further prayers written for Morning Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 25th May 2022, based on readings from Psalm 119, Numbers 17 and Luke 7.1-10. 

From Psalm 119 : Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes * and I shall keep it unto the end.

 

O Lord, our Great Teacher,

Teach us to love you and one another. 

Teach us to pray in thought, word and deed.

Teach us to forgive those who have wounded us.

Teach us to listen for your Word this day.

Teach us to care about those who suffer.

Teach us to work for your peace and justice.  

Teach us to hope for the coming of your eternal kingdom.

Teach us, O Lord, the way of thy statues; and we shall keep it unto the end.

Amen. 

Further Prayers for Morning Prayer on Wednesday 18th May 2022

Richard Hambelton, Shadowman

Further prayers written for Morning Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 18th May 2022, based on readings from Psalm 92, Numbers 12 and Luke 5.12-26

From Psalm 92 :  It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord * and to sing praises unto thy Name, O most Highest; To tell of thy loving-kindness early in the morning * and of thy truth in the night-season.

Good Lord, help us;
To tell the truth of thy loving-kindness amidst all we see and hear this day.
To tell the truth of thy peace in our thoughts, words and deeds. 
To tell the truth of thy providence from claims of earthly pride.
To tell the truth of thy transforming power as living witnesses to your glory.
Amen.

Further Prayers written for Morning Prayer on Wednesday 22nd September

An Illuminating Path, David LaChapelle, 1998

Further prayers written for Morning Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer, held by telephone conference call from St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 22nd September 2021 and based on readings from Mark 13.1-13, Wisdom 13.1-9 & Psalm 107.

Further Prayers for Morning Prayer - Wednesday 16th June 2021

Job Rebuked by his Friends, William Blake, 1793

Further prayers written for Morning Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 16th June 2021, based on readings from Psalm 79, Job 22 and Romans 10.1-10.

Morning Prayer - A New Jerusalem

The New Jerusalem from The Apocalypse Tapestry, Chateau Angers, France

 
It was a great pleasure to lead Morning Prayer today for the online community of St Augustine's College of Theology. Please join the service at the link below. 

Morning Prayer - Christ the King

Christ in Majesty by John Piper (photo by Patrick Comerford)

It was a great pleasure to lead Morning Prayer today for the online community of St Augustine's College of Theology. Our New Testament lesson tells of the triumphal entry of Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem. I thought I would say Morning Prayer while walking from Admiralty Arch along The Mall to Buckingham Palace. 

You can follow an order of service at this link and join the service by clicking on the video below.

Morning Prayer - God of love, mighty river

The Malestrom. Bodo. David Hockney, 2002

“Let the rivers clap their hands and let the hills ring out together before the Lord”
(Psalm 98, verse 8)

Inspired by this verse from one of the Psalms appointed for the morning of October 19th 2020, I thought I would lead our online service of Morning Prayer from beside the River Thames, which is a short walk from our flat. These prayers are inspired by and adapted from prayers written by Chandran Devanesan and St Gertrude the Great. 

The response to : God of love, mighty river is : flow over us, within us and through us.

Morning Prayer - 29th September 2020

It was a great pleasure to lead Morning Prayer on the Facebook Page of St Augustine's College of Theology today - Michaelmas - The Feast of Michael and All Angels. Please join me by watching the video below. 

Prayers for Today

The Leaves of the Trees by Peter Walker, Installation in Exeter Cathedral, 2020

Prayers selected for Morning Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 23rd September 2020.

Morning Prayer - Holy Cross Day

It was a great privilege to lead Morning Prayer for the online community of St Augustine's College of Theology, where I am a student. One of our readings this morning tells the story of the Original Sin, in the Garden of Eden. I have come outside to film the service - our front garden is slightly Eden-esque with lots of palms and banana trees!

I am using the Common Worship order of service which you can access at this link. 

Psalms 2, 8 and 146
Genesis 3.1-15
John 12.27-36a

Please follow along by watching the video below.

Morning Prayer - 24th August 2020

It was a great pleasure to lead a short service of Morning Prayer today on the St Augustine's College of Theology Facebook page whilst on holiday in the Cotswolds. Please follow along by watching the video below.

Morning Prayer - 10th August 2020

Detail from “The Wren and the Resurrection” by Regan O’Callaghan

It was a great pleasure to lead a short service of Morning Prayer today on the St Augustine's College of Theology Facebook page. Please follow along by watching the video below.

Morning Prayer - 27th July 2020

It was a great pleasure to lead Morning Prayer today on the St Augustine's College of Theology Facebook page, which I led from our small 'garden' beneath the banana leaves. Please follow along by watching the video below.

Morning Prayer from the Prayer Book of Thomas Becon

Thomas Becon (sometimes spelt Beccon or Bekon)

I found online (at this link) a copy of the Prayer Book of Thomas Becon (sometimes spelt Beccon or, as on the board in our church Bekon). He was Rector of St Stephen Walbrook twice. A Protestant reformer and a married priest, he was ejected from the church when Mary I came to the throne. He was sent to the Tower of London as a seditious preacher. He briefly returned to Walbrook as Rector after Elizabeth I came to the throne. There is an interesting article about his life and legacy here. Becon was known particularly for his writings in which he called on Christians to avoid partitioning their lives into 'sacred' and 'secular' and to pursue godliness in the rhythms of their daily lives. Some of the prayers in his prayerbook are now very dated - such as the prayers for handmaids and servants. But many of them are timeless. I used some for our service of Morning Prayer today:

Personal Journal - Preparing and Producing an Act of Worship

I was asked to lead Morning Prayer today on the St Augustine's College Facebook page, when the church remembers Alcuin of York - a recording can be seen at the link below. Alcuin was one of the towering figures in the intellectual world of the eighth century, who changed education for the better and for good. Many of his writings survive to this day including an epitaph he wrote for himself "Alcuin was my name: learning I loved." The last time I led Morning Prayer I wrote a journal setting out the decisions I had made and what I might do differently next time. I tried to put some of that into practice today!

Facebook Art - Lord you have called me by name

Mosaic based on a batik 'Jesus on the Lotus Flower' by Dr P Solomon Raj, 1998 

Today I led a virtual service of Morning Prayer on our College Facebook page. You can watch the recording here and follow the order of service here. I am grateful to Ben Schoeman for the music in today’s service and to my partner Henry for reading and for acting as cameraman. Today the Church of England remembers Mary Ramabai, a Sanskrit scholar and translator of the scriptures and the first woman to be awarded the title ‘Pandita’ which means scholar or learned person. She is remembered for her opposition to child marriage and the caste system, for setting up schools and homes for women and orphans and for pioneering an Indian vision of the faith.