International Presbytery of the Church of Scotland
For the gift of faith
which sees beyond the present moment
and looks to an eternity,
we thank you.
For the gift of faith
small as a mustard seed, which has power
within its simplicity,
we thank you.
For the gift of faith
bestowed on those who would simply come,
hearts open in humility,
we thank you. Amen
~ written by John Birch, and posted on re:Worship
From the blog
Deeper and deeper here
Far horizon
To dance with God
inspired by Psalm 16
O God our protector,
we trust in you for safety,
we depend on you for all we need;
all good things come from you –
we commit our future into your hands:
Guide us by day and teach us by night,
be near us so that nothing can shake us,
make us always aware of your presence,
show us the path that leads to life,
let your Spirit fill us with joy,
and let your service be our delight for ever.
Amen.
~ written by Michael Perry, from www.jubilate.co.uk
From the blog
Sola gratia – Deo gratias
In all seasons – grow
First love
Coot
Lord God, the source of all good things,
we pause in your presence and hold our day before you.
Still us, calm us, guide us as we enter this day.
~ from Third Space, posted on re:worship
From the blog
Nature bringing joy
3 Prayers for summer
On trust
Philip Roth: “make the daily connections” (Artwork: Irene Bom)
UPON RANDOMLY THINKING OF ANOTHER PERSON
God, as I hold ____________ a moment in my thoughts, I ask that you would hold them eternally in yours, remaining ever at work in their heart and life, even now directing their paths toward your good deeds.
written by Douglas Kane McKelvey,
from Every Moment Holy: Volume One (Pocket Edition), p. 250
From the blog
Guest post: Reflections on the word ’embrace’
Theme: The greatest is love [prayer sheet]
In the school of prayer with Angela Ashwin
Risen Christ, when darkness overwhelms us
may your dawn beckon.
When fear paralyses us
may your touch release us.
When grief torments us
may your peace enfold us.
When memories haunt us
may your presence heal us.
When justice fails us
may your anger ignite us.
When apathy stagnates us
may your challenge renew us.
When courage leaves us
may your spirit inspire us.
When despair grips us
may your hope restore us.
And when death threatens us
may your resurrection light lead us. Amen.
— written by Annabel Shilson-Thomas, and posted on www.cafod.org.uk
From the blog
A taste for beauty
3 Prayers for endings and beginnings
Consolation joy
from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro, p. 264
From the blog
Sabbath rest
Up to us
On Writing Prayer-Poems
World Collage Day 2025 is this Saturday, 10 May.
I’m hoping (and praying) there’s a good turn out at our COME COLLAGE ROTTERDAM event. We will be creating mini collages in matching pairs, based on a series of prompts, to form a memory game.
World Collage Day is for everyone. There might be a World Collage Day event near you. Alternatively, set up an impromptu World Collage Day get-together where you are, with friends, family, people from your church or neighbourhood. It’s a great way to get creative and build community across the generations. You don’t need much: a place, a time, scissors, glue sticks, magazines and junk mail, and some cardboard you can cut to size to use as a base. Simple, fun and often profound.
For more information: kolajinstitute.org/worldcollageday/
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.
(Acts 2:28)
Risen Lord Jesus,
as the rising sun scatters the darkness,
let fear and the memory of failure
be scattered from our souls
that we may live in the glorious freedom
of the children of God
We raise up into your resurrection light
all who are excluded from fullness of life
by poverty, unemployment or stigma,
by injustice, criminality or neglect,
by homelessness, landlessness or war,
remembering in particular the peoples of
[names may be added here]
Risen Lord Jesus,
let us be baptized by your resurrection light.
May we trust in you above all else,
hope in you above all else,
seek you in all things,
find you in every place,
meet you among all people,
know you through everything,
and love you
beyond, beyond, beyond all telling.
We pray in your name, living Lord.
Amen.
~ from the Christian Aid website. posted on re:worship
Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be.
For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God’s equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man.
And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.
That is why God has now lifted him so high, and has given him the name beyond all names, so that at the name of Jesus “every knee shall bow”, whether in Heaven or earth or under the earth.
And that is why, in the end, “every tongue shall confess” that Jesus Christ” is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Most wonderful God,
the beauty we see in Jesus
is your beauty veiled in human flesh,
the love we witness from Bethlehem to Golgotha
is your love contracted to a span.
If Christ’s life is so holy as to fill us with wonder,
how much more would your unveiled beauty
leave us overwhelmed and trembling?
You are more than the eye could bear,
more than the mind can ever fathom.
Yet you have so carefully made us
that although we cannot fathom you,
we can yet love you.
Gratefully we bring our little lives to you,
asking that our worship may arise from love and be shaped by love,
and be directed towards that larger loving which is our soul’s desire.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen!
~ by Bruce Prewer, posted on his website
When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”
Spirit of life
Fill our emptiness with your fullness
Spirit of power
Stir our hearts afresh
Spirit of love
Touch us, and through us, our neighbour
Spirit of creativity
Enable and empower the gifts you have given
Spirit of eternity
Draw us ever deeper into your Kingdom
— by John Birch, posted on re:worship
From the blog
The empty cup
Mightier than the crashing waves
In the school of prayer with Tish Harrison Warren
Caution: Wet floor (Verbeke Foundation, Belgium)
In my local congregation in Rotterdam we’re doing a sermon series called “Deep calls to deep”, starting on Lent 2 and running through to Good Friday and Easter.
The series includes Psalm 42, Hannah “deeply troubled” (1 Samuel 1:1-20), “deep darkness” from Isaiah 59, Jonah’s prayer “from deep in the realm of the dead” (Jonah 2:1-10), Jesus “deeply distressed” in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42), Peter’s advice to “love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:7-11) and Paul commending the Thessalonians for their “deep conviction” (1 Thess 1:1-10).
What deep treasures will you discover this Lent?
Our ancestors in the faith
used ashes as a sign of our repentance,
a symbol of the uncertainty and fragility
of human life.
Like them,
we have tasted the ashes of hopelessness;
we have walked through the ashes
of our loss and pain;
we have stood knee-deep
in the ashes of our brokenness.
God of our lives,
out of the dust of creation
you have formed us and given us life.
May these ashes not only be a sign
of our repentance and death,
but reminders that by your gift of grace
in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer,
we are granted life forever with you.
Amen.
(A period of silence will follow. Those who wish to do so, may come forward to have the sign of the cross placed on their foreheads or hands. The ashes are from palm branches used at Palm Sunday services in the past, mixed with oil).
~ written by Thom Shuman, posted on re:worship