Thanksgiving and intercession 10 January 2021

Lord God

thank you for the hope we have in you, through Christ Jesus, your Son

thank you for the baptism which we have received, even where we do not remember it

thank you for this new day, with the opportunities it brings to offer you praise and bring your blessing into this broken world

Christ Jesus

King of the Universe

we lay this broken world, in sorrow, before your throne

though the year has barely begun, it is hard for us to comprehend what is going on around us, and thought your world

Covid on the rise, even in the Highlands of Scotland

tighter and tighter restrictions, placing burdens on parents juggling work and school

teachers teaching online and, for some, in person too

the lonely and isolated feeling more lonely and isolated

domestic abuse sufferers finding nowhere to escape their abuser

frontline NHS staff at the limits of their capacity

and we look across the Atlantic, with sadness

oh Lord

what a mess this world is in

because the world does not follow your way

of loving neighbour as self

by our baptism, may we in the places we live, in the interactions we have with others, in the things we write, the things we say and the things we do

unite us to you

that the light of Christ may shine from us into the darkness

there is, also so much for us, we cannot find words

so we sit, in silence, and offer all which lays on our hearts today,

knowing you understand each one, answer each one

[pause]

Accept these prayers, spoken and unspoken

offered through Christ Jesus, our Lord, Saviour and friend

who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit

One God

now and always
Amen