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