Joy, despite everything

 

Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10

 

 

source: BBC news
 

News from St Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Columbo

Lakshmi writes,

On the church property a small tree had fallen. Except for two people in our congregation who had water coming into their basement apartment car park (in the outskirts of Colombo), the rest are safe.

The worst hit areas are in the central Province. Landslides continue. Many are displaced and so far nearly 300 have died. Since yesterday, the sluice gates of the dams have been opened and areas about 6-8 km away from Colombo are getting flooded. India has sent a rescue mission team and provided helicopters to help with this tragedy.

In spite of all that is taking place around us, there was some sunshine yesterday and we managed to have two services at SASK – the St Andrew’s Day service in the morning and the Carol service in the evening. Thank God the weather kept fine. Over 100 people turned up for both services.

 

Prayer of Intercession for the Advent Season

(inspired by Isaiah 35)

In patience and in hope,
let us offer our prayers to God,
saying with one voice,

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

For all who walk in God’s Holy Way:
those in the pews and in the pulpits;
those at home and on the streets;
for all who ponder God’s promise in their hearts,
and all who carry the good news into the world,

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

For the nations and their leaders:
that eyes may be opened and ears unstopped,
and that peace and justice break forth in every land.

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

For all the world: heaven and earth,
the seas, and all that is in them.
For the early and the late rains,
and the precious crop from the earth.
For the gathering darkness and the light of hope.

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

For this community and all who live in it,
each member of the whole body:
friend and stranger, parent and child,
brother and sister, widow and orphan.
Strengthen weak hands, dear God,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart, Be strong, do not fear!

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

For all who are nearest to you, O God:
the lonely, the out-of-work,
the sick, the fearful, the cold, and the hungry.
For the one who is sorry, and the one who is ashamed.
It is you, our God of hope, who sets all prisoners free.

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

For all the departed, and all who remember,

We rejoice with joy and singing
For the coming of the LORD is near.

We are waiting, O God, with all the patience we can muster.
Beloved of angels and archangels,
Lover of saints and sinners,
God our Savior, to you alone we pray,
Amen.

 
~ written by Margaret D. McGee, and posted on re:Worship
 

People cry “peace”


 

Prayer of Confession

inspired by Jeremiah 6:13-16

O Lord,
All around us people cry “peace” when there is no peace.
How can there be peace
when voices are silenced, people suffer, and rights are denied?
How can there be peace
when bombs are falling, countries are at war, and justice is denied?

O Lord,
All too often we are the ones who cry “peace” when there is no peace.
How can there be peace
when people around us are lonely, stereotyped, and abused?
How can there be peace
when our own nations use violence in the pursuit of peace?

O Lord,
We confess our brokenness.
We confess our complicity.
We confess our contentment with “peace”
that is only about our own personal well-being.

O Lord,
Draw us to yourself, that we might live in your grace and pardon.
Challenge us to see through false declarations of “peace.”
Empower us to be peacemakers.

O Lord,
We stand at the crossroads and look.
Show us the ancient paths, where the good way lies.
Give us the courage to walk in it,
that all may find rest for their souls. Amen.

 
~ from Mennonite Central Committee website, posted on re:Worship

Day of Prayer: Saturday 29 November 2025

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly, is encouraging Church of Scotland congregations to join together in a special Day of Prayer on Saturday 29 November, the eve of St Andrew’s Day.

More information and resources here

Watch live stream
They will be livestreaming the first hour (11am–12noon) and the final hour (7–8pm) of the day (UK time zone). So, if you’re not able to join in person, you can still be part of this time of prayer and worship from wherever you are.

From the blog
Make us a chalice
Theme: He heals the brokenhearted  [prayer sheet]
Change from the inside out
 

Peace that makes whole


Holy Spirit Guest House, Groningen

 

“The fruit of the Spirit is … peace …”

 

A prayer

Lord, create in me a love for peace;
not peace that is the absence of struggle,
not peace that is blind to injustice,
but peace that makes whole what is now broken.

 
from The Lion Prayer Collection, compiled by Mary Batchelor, p. 365

Day of Prayer: Saturday 29 November 2025

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly, is encouraging Church of Scotland congregations to join together in a special Day of Prayer on Saturday 29 November, the eve of St Andrew’s Day.

More information and resources here

Watch live stream
They will be livestreaming the first hour (11am–12noon) and the final hour (7–8pm) of the day (UK time zone). So, if you’re not able to join in person, you can still be part of this time of prayer and worship from wherever you are.

From the blog
Forget not
In the school of prayer with Terry Hinks
Unite my divided heart
 

Lament for peace and justice

Prayer of Lament

To the One who calls us Beloved,
we bring hurting hearts to you this morning,
our fearfulness, and our worry.
Our anger.

Our world is not as it should be.

The ones with power make decisions for their own benefit.
In a show of might, they flirt with war and destruction
but the most desperate among us are left to fend for themselves.

The proud and the comfortable say,
“Everything is fine. There is no problem.”
But those without privilege know better.
They hunger, they weep, they bleed.
They wait for your justice to vindicate them – before it’s too late!

In a world where hate is a virtue and exclusion a way of life
it is hard to hold on to what unites.
It is tough to find common ground.
Our humanity is lost in the scuffle.

Those of us who wish for peace forget how to make it
or where to begin
and fall into hopelessness, cynicism or despair.
We too begin to feel powerless
in the face of widespread suffering and systemic evil.

Even our planet seems ready to crack
under the pressure of forces that are beyond us.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, volcanoes.
Nature groans – and with it, your people.

Come, Lord Jesus, we pray.

When will you come?
When will you make right?

We are not strong enough, not wise enough, not good enough
to make peace, to bring healing.

But you are,

You are the one who planted peace in our hearts.
You are the one who will make it come to pass.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Strengthen the bruised reed.
Make weapons into ploughshares.
Comfort the weary and heavy-laden.
Make a home for the homeless.
Still the waters.
Calm the storm.

Come, Lord Jesus, you and your kingdom,
Come.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Your will be done.
Amen.
 
~ written by Becky Bonham, posted on re:worship

From the blog
A quiet act of kindness
3 prayers for prisoners of conscience
Theme: Ever sustaining  [prayer sheet]
 

People of peace


 

A prayer for Remembrance Day

On this day of memory we gather to sing and to pray,
we remember the past and look to the future.
On this day when the guns once fell silent,
we come before you God, seeking Your peace.
On this day of hope in the face of terror,
we come before you God, praying with all our hearts:
God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
help us to find the path that leads to the Peaceable kingdom.
Open our eyes and the eyes of the nations
to find a different path through the disagreements of life in this world.
In this time of story, song, and prayer,
may we be re-committed to being people of Peace, true peace.
May we catch a vision of how the world could live together.
And so we echo the old prayers:
Make us channels of your peace.
Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with us!
Amen

~ written by Gord Waldie and posted on Worship Offerings.

From the blog
Do this remembering
Guest post: For peace with justice
In the school of prayer with St Francis of Assisi
 

When you reap

 

God says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.”

 

A prayer

Almighty God, Creator of all things,
Maker of all people,
grant that we may find a unity in you,
that we may be joined together in the bond of peace,
that we may share, with justice,
the rich resources of the world,
that no one may be in hunger, or oppressed,
that none of your creation may be spoiled or misused.
We ask this in the name of him who gave himself for the world,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen
 

by David Adam, from The Rhythm of Life: Celtic Daily Prayer, p.46

From the blog
A new nature
No more tears
Sabbath rest
 

Sowing and reaping


Mosaic wall, Scots International Church Rotterdam

Prayer of Intercession

(inspired by 2 Corinthians 9:6)

In humility of heart let us pray to God the Father of all.

 
Lord, in your word you teach us
that sparse sowing means meagre reaping;
give us generous hearts as we respond to your love.

Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer.

Lord, you teach us that a generous heart
produces a bountiful harvest;
pour your love within us.

Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer.

Lord, you teach us to pray for those who govern us;
bless all in positions of authority
who take decisions for the nations of your world.

Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer.

Lord, you teach us to bring your healing
to the sick and suffering;
may your healing be upon those
whom we name before you now …

Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer.

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven….

 
~ from www.givingingrace.org/

From the blog
Germinate and grow
A Peace Garden
A holy space
 

The proper time to reap

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

A prayer

Almighty God,
you called us to labour in your vineyard:
Keep us faithful in your service,
whether the harvest is plentiful,
or the soil seems barren and our labour unprofitable;
knowing that the harvest is yours,
and you will reap in your own appointed time;
to the glory of your holy Name.

 
written by Eric Milner-White (1884-1963) and G.W. Briggs (1875-1959),
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #552
 

From the blog
All good gifts
Joyful response
Thank you. For fruit-bearing trees
 

Birds don’t reap

A gathering of larks by Abigail Carroll,
inspiration for my St Francis Focus this year

 

Call to Worship

inspired by Matthew 6:25-27

Look at the birds of the air;
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns
and yet God provides for the basic sustenance of life.
May our hearts be open to trust you.

Look at the birds of the air;
they neither study nor plan nor plot their course
and yet God writes the instinct for migration into their hearts.
May our eyes be open to see you.

Look at the birds of the air;
they neither talk nor vote nor debate their responsibility
yet God weaves them into communities which nurture and defend.
May our hands be open to serve you.

 
~ written by Katherine Hawker, and posted on re:Worship

From the blog
Ask the animals
The whole bright world rejoices
In the school of prayer with St Francis of Assisi
 

Bread-and-butter ~ work


 

Labour litany

Lord, bless the work of our hands.

For all those who toil and labour:
Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who have lost their jobs,
      who are unemployed or underemployed,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who work in hazardous conditions
      without sufficient protection,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who face discrimination, harassment,
      or abuse in the work place,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who are not paid fair wages
      or who are denied legally due overtime pay,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For migrant agricultural workers
      and for all who work the land,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For all employers that they may seek to provide
      a just work environment,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For those who struggle to balance job commitments
      with the needs of their family,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

For all humans who seek to become the co-creators
      of the promised Kingdom,
let us pray: Lord, bless the work of their hands.

Loving God,
through your Son you gave us an example of how to love one another and how to embody this love in labour to serve the poor and the oppressed. Give us the strength to continue working to bring forth your kingdom here on earth — a kingdom of justice and peace, where all know compassion, grace and mercy.
Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 
 
from re:Worship
 

Photo taken in the train on my way home from my “bread and butter”, the job that provides me with the money I need to live.
 

From the blog
In the school of prayer with Brother Lawrence
The work of our hands
Evening prayer #2