CALL TO PRAYER: SUNDAY 27th September 2020 Prayer @ 7pm
For the second occasion, in the course of a journey that was now set to be much longer than originally anticipated, the people of Israel complain to Moses. At the heart of the complaint is the question: ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ The first occasion is recorded in Exodus 16 where ‘bread from heaven’ is provided by the Lord in response to that complaint. Now, as the journey is set to continue for a longer period, a complaint is raised again. In response, the Lord calls Moses to go ‘ahead of the people’ and lead them to the place of renewed provision. In response, Moses leads the people of Israel to the place where water is provided in the wilderness. (Exodus 17: 1-7)
For the second occasion, in the course of a journey that is now set to be much longer than originally anticipated, we are being asked as the people of God to share, in the communities of which we are a part, a renewed challenge in relation to the Covid 19 crisis. We are not where we wanted to be on the journey and we cannot go back to where we started. At this time, the question we might well ask is this: ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ As we go forward together, we ask that the Lord will lead us to the place of renewed provision, so that we can say, humbly and with thanksgiving: ‘Yes, the Lord is among us!’ We pray:
Living God,
We journey in hard places today
And in the company of many who are weary and fearful. We journey in hard places
And we confess that we are weary and fearful ourselves.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
As you have heard our cry in times past,
Hear our cry renewed.
As you have provided for your people in times past,Renew your provision today. Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
You have watched over us
And brought us safe thus far.
You watch over us now
And we trust that you shall lead us to the place of safety renewed.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
In our remembering of the journey past,
We do not forget those who are no longer with us.
In our remembering of the journey past,
We do not forget the depth of the challenges we have faced.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Living God,
Go before us we ask
And lead us to the place of your presence.
Go before us
And bring us to the place where your presence is renewed.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord God,
In our journey onwards,
May we know that you are among us.
At journey’s end,
May we know that you have always been with 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)