Like a pillar of fire across deserts
God our creator who goes before us
You draw us forward in faith
A rock of assurance
As we journey
Speak to us with your words of comfort and wisdom.
Song “When peace like a river”
We say the Lords Prayer in our own language
Jeremiah 20v7-9
O Lord, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
We pray for the people of Ukraine, and for the Russian people, for Hong Kong, for Taiwan, for Syrians, for Yemenis, for Palestinians, for Rohingas, for Uighurs; For those suffering from flooding, drought earthquakes, and cyclones due to climate change, for the millions of refugees, for homeless people, for those who are hungry, thirsty or in prison, for the terrified and deranged; for those on strike, for doctors nurses, teachers and for the government to do the best for its people and not the worst; for our children, grandchildren and a better future for us all.
Loving God help us to follow you
Into a place of quietness,
Where we may face beasts and wilderness
But we will know the presence of angels
Even in the desert times. Amen.