Category: COVID-19

This Sunday (25 October), as restrictions continue across Scotland, Christians across the country – and further afield – will join together in prayer at 7pm in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown and the phased easing of restrictions, 14 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has been taking part alongside them.

“I’m delighted to have read that in the last couple of months online searches for ‘prayer’ have increased dramatically,” Dr Fair said.

“But reading about what prayer is and how to do it is only the start of it. After that it’s time to actually pray.

“And what better than to join with brothers and sisters from across the nation at 7pm on Sunday to pray our way through this ongoing crisis. I commend it to you and look forward to being with you, in Spirit, on Sunday evening.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/6XZ-mJGPIxg

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic, states:

“The question asked of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is simple: ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ (22: 36).

“It is a part of a series of questions asked of Jesus and the purpose of the questions is to ‘entrap him’ (22: 15). At this point we might ask: How many commandments are there in the Law of Moses? In an ancient tradition, the answer is 613 and in the 12^th Century a great Rabbi of the time set out the 613 commandments in detail.

“In other words: Answering the question that Jesus is asked is potentially difficult and complex. How do we make sense of so many laws and regulations? The answer that Jesus gives takes us to the heart of the commandments: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (22: 37-39). In his summary, Jesus says: ‘Everything hangs on these two commandments’ (22: 40).

“In a society necessarily shaped by law and regulation, the answering of questions in relation to them can at times seem potentially difficult and complex. In the midst of the complexity, we hear again the commandments to love God and neighbour and affirm that everything hangs on these two as our indispensable guide.”

We pray:

Lord our God,
We turn to you,
As the One who has spoken in times past,
And ask that that you would speak to us in times present.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
In our response,
We listen for your Word
And the call to love you with heart and soul and mind.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
In the living out of our response,
We offer all that we are,
Knowing you have given all through Christ our Lord.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
We turn to you,
As the One who has made us in your image,
And who makes our neighbour in that same image.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
In our response,
We journey with our neighbour
And seek to love them as you command.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
In the living out of our response,
We stand together with our neighbour,
Knowing you stand together with us through Christ our Lord.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

This Sunday (18 October), as restrictions continue across Scotland, Christians across the country – and further afield – will once again join together in prayer at 7pm in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown and the phased easing of restrictions, 14 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has been taking part alongside them.

“I’m delighted to have read that in the last couple of months online searches for ‘prayer’ have increased dramatically,” Dr Fair said.

“But reading about what prayer is and how to do it is only the start of it. After that it’s time to actually pray.

“And what better than to join with brothers and sisters from across the nation at 7pm on Sunday to pray our way through this ongoing crisis. I commend it to you and look forward to being with you, in Spirit, on Sunday evening.

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic states:

“Does God go with us? That is a question we might well ask at this time. Does God go with us as we journey through the latest stage of the challenge that we face personally and as a community? Does God go with us in the uncertainty of the times in which we live? If so, how do we know?

“Moses led the people out of Egypt and, during the subsequent journey in the wilderness, it seems that the persistent questions asked of him by the people of Israel can be summed up as follows:

“Does God go with us? If so, how do we know? In reply, the response of the Lord is this: ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest… and I know you by name.’ In return, Moses asks that he might see the glory of the Lord. In reply, the Lord offers to put him in ‘a cleft of the rock’ as a place of safety (Exodus 33: 14, 17, 22).

“The words of a traditional hymn capture the image:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

“Does God go with us? Yes, even on the hardest journey. If so, how do we know? We know because the Lord leads us to the place of safety.”

We pray:

Lord, lead us
To the place where you are known
And to the assurance of your presence.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place of rest
And to the promise of renewal.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where the people made in your image gather
And their voices are heard.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where we are called by our name
And find acceptance in your sight.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where we are protected
And our safety is assured.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, lead us
To the place where your glory is revealed
And our lives are transformed in Christ.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Rt. Rev. Kevin Pearson, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

This Sunday (11 October), as restrictions continue across Scotland, Christians across the country will join together in prayer at 7pm in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown and the phased easing of restrictions, 14 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has been taking part alongside them.

“I’m delighted to have read that in the last couple of months online searches for ‘prayer’ have increased dramatically,” Dr Fair said.

“But reading about what prayer is and how to do it is only the start of it. After that it’s time to actually pray.

“And what better than to join with brothers and sisters from across the nation at 7pm on Sunday to pray our way through this ongoing crisis. I commend it to you and look forward to being with you, in Spirit, on Sunday evening.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/SkWQVUVagx4

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic, states:

“Among the many challenges our society faces at this time is that of finding the appropriate words to describe and express that which needs to be described and expressed. As we have discovered, that is a far more difficult challenge than might have been anticipated.

“In seeking to describe and express the spiritual challenges of this time, we turn to Scripture and discover that Scripture speaks to us and for us. This is especially so of the Book of Psalms. Augustine, a Christian writer who lived in North Africa in the 5^th Century writes: ‘If the psalm prays, you pray. If the psalm laments, you lament. If the psalm exalts, you rejoice. If it hopes, you hope. If it fears, you fear. Everything written here is a mirror for us.’

“At this time, the 23^rd Psalm ‘is a mirror for us’: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ The imagery speaks to us and for us. It evokes a memory embedded in our spiritual consciousness that resonates with every part of who we are.

“Whatever paths we take, even to the ‘darkest valley’, the Lord leads us so that we ‘fear no evil’. In our journey, personally and collectively, the Psalm speaks to us and for us.”

We pray:

Good shepherd,
Speak to us and for us.
Speak to us in the midst of us these times
And, in the words of the Psalmist, speak for us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Good shepherd,
Speak to us at the break of day
And in the evening.
Speak to us the words that resonate in the depths of our hearts
Even as human words fall silent.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Good shepherd,
Journey with us,
Even to dark valleys.
Go before us
And lead us safe home.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Good shepherd,
We confess that we fear the times
And that our souls are troubled.
Lead us to still waters
And restore our souls.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Good shepherd,
Surely you are with us
And your presence there to comfort.
Comfort us when we are anxious
And strengthen us when we are weak.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Good shepherd,
In these present times,
May your goodness and mercy be with us.
In times to come,
May we recall that goodness and mercy has surely followed us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

This Sunday (4 October), following this weekend’s General Assembly proceedings, Christians across Scotland will join together in prayer once more at 7pm in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with previous weeks during lockdown and the phased easing of restrictions, 14 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer.

Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has been taking part alongside them.

“I’m delighted to have read that in the last couple of months online searches for ‘prayer’ have increased dramatically,” Dr Fair said.

“But reading about what prayer is and how to do it is only the start of it. After that it’s time to actually pray.

“And what better than to join with brothers and sisters from across the nation at 7pm on Sunday to pray our way through this ongoing crisis. I commend it to you and look forward to being with you, in Spirit, on Sunday evening.

This week’s letter accompanying the prayer, which is also available in Gaelic, states:

“As we journey through these days, we will come to occasions of real significance that will mark out its future shape and course. However, we might only come to appreciate the significance of those occasions as we look back and reflect. We are not yet in a place where we can look back and understand all that has happened in these past months. History has yet to be written. However, the events of our times will shape that history in ways that we can only anticipate.

“The journey of the people of Israel described in the Book of Exodus takes them to many places and occasions of significance. The journey to Mount Sinai and the significance of receiving the commandments of the Lord is one such. Traditionally, we refer to these as the Ten Commandments and their giving is a moment of profound significance in the Exodus story.

“This part of the story begins with a recalling of the fact that it is the Lord their God who has delivered them. In turn, the Commandments offered set out the boundaries within which the community of Israel may live and flourish (Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20). In these difficult times, let us recollect that it is the Lord our God who will deliver us and who offers to us life and the hope that our communities will flourish once more.”

We pray:

Lord our God,
We recall that you are the One who journeys before us.
As you have journeyed with us in times past,
Journey with us now
In all that we face as the people of God.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
We recall that you are the One who offers life
To all who call upon you.
We call upon you now
And trust that you will answer in your good time.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
We recall that you are the One who speaks to your people
And offers to them the word that brings life.
May your word spoken to us this day
Bring life and the promise of hope once more.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
We recall that you are merciful and gracious
And that you abound in love.
Grant us understanding to speak words of comfort
And wisdom to speak words of hope.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord our God,
We recall that your Son invites us to love you
With heart and soul and mind
And to love our neighbour as ourselves.
Grant us grace to do so in these times.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

• Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
• Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
• Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
• Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
• Rev. Lindsey Sanderson, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
• Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
• Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
• Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
• Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
• Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
• Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
• Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
• Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
• Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)