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notre dame montreal Prayers for Easter Day

Prayers for Easter 3

Prayers by Mr Mike Elliott

 Baptism & Holy Communion at 9-30 am
(prayers 72.doc)
Readings:
1. Acts 9 v1-6 Saul’s conversion on the Damascus road.
2. Rev.5 v11-14 Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
3. John 21 v1-19 Peter the fisher of men.

After these prayers of intercession we shall sing together the Lord’s prayer as printed on your Order of Service.

The bidding for our prayers will be ‘Lord in Your Mercy’

With the response ‘Hear our Prayer’

Almighty, everlasting and Creator God – who out of the very stuff of stars created a dazzling, wonderful yet often puzzling world. We come before you now in prayer knowing that you sent Jesus to help us make sense of it and in doing so to help us find our way to the salvation and eternal life that he offers to all.
So we pray for that world and it’s people with all kinds of questions and needs.

Lord in Your mercy.  - 'Hear our prayer’

As our world faces many threats due to our failure to heed your word we are confronted daily in the media with conflicts over borders and land, power struggles and civil wars and terrorism.  And there is the more recent threat of climate change with the greatest risk to those least able to under stand it nor yet counter it.

Lord you have given us wisdom and creativity and the means to pool our knowledge for the common good. Heal the rifts between Nations and Peoples and put an end to tribalism in all its forms.
We are heartened by the news of a reduction in the number of nuclear warheads held by 2 world powers and pray that this will be seen as an example to other nations to look carefully at their destructive capabilities.

We remember, as always, those who serve in our armed forces and those who wait at home for their safe return.

We pray for the victims of natural disasters thinking of the recent earthquakes, Tsunamis and landslides and pray that lessons can be learnt to minimise their effect in the future. We remember the people in the Qinghai Province of China.

We remember and pray also for the people of Poland as they come to terms with the loss of so many of their prominent citizens.

Lord in Your mercy.  - 'Hear our prayer’
Prayers for UK and our society
As the nation gears up for a General Election we pray that truth will not be a victim of spin and that our prejudices are not capitalised upon as easy vote winners. We pray that candidates will recognise that they are being elected to serve all the people with fairness and humility.

We pray for those in our society who have slipped through the care system and feel forgotten and marginalised and for whom there is always a recession. We pray for those who with limited resources offer hope and comfort.

We remember those caught up in the current travel crisis caused by the volcanic ash and are reminded of the awesome power of nature to disrupt even the most advanced technology.

 Lord in Your mercy.  - 'Hear our prayer’

We pray for the Church in the UK, in all its different forms, and for its ministers and lay leadership. It is a sad fact that media news about the church is often negative and we pray that the work of Christian witness and caring in our communities goes on undaunted. Especially we pray for the church’s work amongst children and young people as many seek answers to questions which our secular society cannot give. And we pray for the new initiatives in reaching out to the un-churched in our communities.

Especially today we pray for Liam Andrew and for his family that he may come to know the love and peace which is found in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Help us Lord in own way to project a positive image of our faith by following our Lords example in daily living and like Peter become fishers of men. 

 

Lord in Your mercy.  - 'Hear our prayer’

And so we think now of those in need in our own community, the elderly, the housebound and those in care homes, hospital and hospice and for those who, with skill and compassion, care for them and for those who bring spiritual comfort at times of need.

We also pray for those who endure the pain of grief at the loss of a loved one. Help us to support all those who mourn, both with our prayers, with words of comfort and with practical help both this day and in the days and weeks to come.

So let us share a moment of silence together as we bring before you those known only to ourselves and to our heavenly Father as we name them in our hearts and commit them to His loving care.

(A short period of silence)