Prayers of Intercession – Take up Thy Cross & Tame Thy Tongue

Prayers of Intercession – Take up Thy Cross & Tame Thy Tongue 

Prayers of Intercession written for the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook on Thursday 16th 2021 ((Year B, Trinity 15, Proper 19) based on readings from Mark 8.27-end, James 3.1-12 and the words of the hymn; O Jesus I have promised.

Further Prayers written for Choral Evensong on Sunday 12th September 2021

Frederick James Brown, Knock and the door shall be opened, 1996

Further prayers written for Choral Evensong at St Stephen’s Rochester Row on Sunday 12th September based on texts from Psalm 119.73-88, Exodus 18.13-26 & Matthew 7.1-14.

BOOK REVIEW : Daughter of Jerusalem by Sara Maitland

Written by Sara Maitland and set around the time it was first published (1978), the book is divided into nine ‘months’ and tells the story of Liz and Ian as they struggle to conceive a child; with some passages containing quite graphic detail. 

Each chapter concludes with an imagined account of a biblical story, with no apparent separation in the way the text is set out - no double spacing or page marking - each month of the story of Liz and Ian is meant to be read as one with the parallel narrative, the content of which seems to relate to an event or theme earlier in the chapter. Each of the ‘biblical’ stories has a female character as its principal focus.

This is the first novel I have read by Sarah Maitland, who is a noted writer of what is described by some as “religious fantasy” although this novel seems more “religious reality” to me. Maitland is also known as a feminist author. Daughter of Jerusalem was her first novel. 

I was introduced to the book by Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester, when he kindly gave a lecture at St Augustine’s College one Friday evening before the summer holiday. The subject of his lecture was Mary, the Mother of God. 

Further Prayers written for Morning Prayer on Wednesday 8 September

Chris Offili - The Holy Virgin Mary, 1996

Today we remember the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

Start:Stop - Role conflict: a Marian perspective

The Virgin Spanking The Christ Child - Max Ernst (1926)

Role conflict is a significant cause of workplace stress. It can occur when we face seemingly incompatible expectations - for example, conflicting deadlines set by different supervisors or clients. Role conflict may also arise when there is ambiguity or overlap between the different roles we fulfill; for instance, where a manager has to discipline members of a team who they consider to be their friends. 

It’s not just in the workplace that we face role conflict, but within all areas of life - and perhaps especially at the point at which the different areas of our lives meet. Nor is it always a third party - another person - who places these pressures upon us; it is just as likely that role conflict arises from expectations we place on ourselves or from a desire to conform to overlapping societal and cultural “norms” - for instance, to have a successful career and a happy family.

This week, the church remembers the birth of Mary, the mother of God; who is also the Blessed Virgin Mary - someone who embodies the ultimate role conflict. 

What can the example of Mary teach us about the conflicting roles we embody? 

The gospel reading set for the Nativity of the Mary is from the Gospel according to St Matthew, chapter one, beginning at verse eighteen. 

Prayers of Intercession - Open our hearts and minds

Sadao Watanabe, Woman of Canaan, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Prayers of Intercession written for the Sung Eucharist at St George’s Bloomsbury on Sunday 5th September 2021 ((Year B, Trinity 14, Proper 18) based on readings from Mark 7.24-end and James 2.10-17.

Prayers of Intercession - Love that shows no variation or shadow

Chila Kurami Singh Burman, Remembering A Brave New World at Tate Britain, 2020. Photo by Joe Humphrys. 

Prayers of Intercession written for the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook on Thursday 2nd September 2021 ((Year B, Trinity 13, Proper 17) based on readings from Mark 7.1-8, 14, 15, 21-23 and James 1.17-end.

Sermon - Bank Holiday Beatitudes

Lost Destinations - Forton Services (wearedorothy.com)

A homily given at St Stephen's Rochester Row at Evensong on Sunday 29th August 2021 based on the gospel reading from Matthew 4.23 - 5.20.

Sermon - Bread that changed the world

Basket of Bread, Salvador Dali

A sermon preached at the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook on Thursday 26th August 2021 based on readings from Ephesians 6:10-20 and John 6:56-69.

Good News in a Nutshell

Our history is full of events that remind us that bread can change the world. The Great Fire of London, the anniversary of which falls next week, is one example. In the Gospel reading, Jesus again tells the disciples that he is the living bread that came down from heaven. He asks them if this sounds offensive. Many decide to turn away. Peter and the twelve apostles continue to follow Jesus, responding to Jesus’s question with a question of their own – where else can they go? An inspiring response! But would we answer Jesus so confidently? The gospel reading affirms and reassures all those who have the confidence to question. The answer to every question we can ever ask is in the living bread that we share at the Eucharist. A reminder that it’s not just in history that bread can change the world – but in the present too.

Prayers of Intercession - I am the bread of life

The Bread of Life by Hermel Alejandre, 2015

Prayers written for the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook on Thursday 5th August 2021 (Year B, Trinity 9, Proper 10) based on readings from Ephesians 4.1-16 and John 6.24-35.

Further Prayers for Morning Prayer on Wednesday 4th August 2021

The Heavens are Telling, Emil Carlson, c1918

Further prayers written for Morning Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer at St Stephen Walbrook on Wednesday 4th August 2021, based on readings from Psalm 19, Ezekiel 39.21-end, Mark 1.21-28.