Gathering prayer
May Your star pause over this place of worship,
illuminating Your truth and justice.
Confront us anew with Your call
to look for power in lowly places
and to bring our gifts to worship.
You, who are long gone from the stable,
but present in every place and time –
God with us.
Reflective prayer for 8 January
We give thanks today – that the Holy Spirit always shows up
and Her presence is as disruptive today
as it was when Jesus was baptised by John.
Baptised in the face of oppression and despair.
Baptised in the grimness of life.
For Baptism always proclaims the love
and the mystery of God
and the presence of the unquenchable Spirit.
Whenever baptism is offered –
at the beginning of life
as a symbol of hope and promise,
as a rite of passage, building on family tradition,
as a response to faith that has grown slowly and surely,
at the bedside of a beautiful 93-year-old saint
embarrassed to admit that she had never been baptised,
or with parents anxious about their new-born’s hold on life –
whether sprinkled,
dunked,
immersed,
or with the gentlest whisper of a touch;
always, always, always,
the Holy Spirit makes Herself known
as angels gather to sing a Gloria,
declaring the wonder of God
who calls us Beloved.
Amen
Sending prayer for the Season of Epiphany
May we follow Your light into all the darkness of the world,
overthrowing the old and tired ways,
fighting for justice,
forging paths to peace,
loving those it’s hard to love,
knowing You go before us and call us to follow.
Amen
Bellshill Central Church 