Prayer of Intercession
Sunday, 10 July, 2011
Jim Seymour
Lord, we pray for peace, and demilitarization. Nuclear weapons developed and accumulated by many countries, both rich and poor, would, if deployed, cause massive destruction. We pray for nations to live in peace and harmony.
May the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court be able to live up to their promise and become instruments of cooperation, law, and the prevention of war.
In this phase of the ecumenical prayer cycle, we join in solidarity with our fellow Christians to pray for the people and churches of Costa Rica, El.Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama. We pray for sexual minorities in El Salvador, a country seriously infected by homophobia.
We also pray for the people of Africa, where we rejoice at how many countries have made much progress in recent years in freeing the human spirit and modernizing secular institutions. May the Anglican Christian communities in Africa and the Western world hold together in the spirit of tolerance and "judge not, lest ye be judged." Matthew 7:1
In the eastern horn, a drought has hit many people, who are now suffering from famine, with a hundred thousand fleeing to refuges, while others have been unable to do so. May the Hong Kong Christian Council succeed in its appeal to the churches for financial assistance for the affected areas.
We pray for our brother Abraham, and rejoice that he has found a way to serve his fellow Cameroonians.
May the often misguided leaders in the Middle-East revisit the tenets of the founders of their various religions, and find therein the messages of peace, love, and forbearance. May both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, having much right on their side, exercise restraint and return to the letter and spirit of the 1993 Oslo accords.
We rejoice in the peaceful and democratic outcome of the recent election in Thailand. May that country have seen the end of the turmoil that in recent years had come to characterize the political life of the country.
We pray for the leaders of all the nations and factions fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan; may they know the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peace- makers, for they will be called children of God." Mathew 5:9
We pray for the victims of poor quality construction on mainland China, including the man killed, and others who were injured, in an accident that occurred in Beijing due escalator mal-function.
We pray for the souls of the Chinese miners who die at the average rate seven per week. We keep the sacrifice of such people in mind as we enjoy our electricity, produced by the coal that these brave men pull up from the dangerous depths.
We note with at least a little satisfaction the release from prison of activist Hu Jia and the artist Ai Weiwei. May their home confinements be brief.
We pray for the reform of China’s legal system, and for the protection of lawyers who advocate building up civil society to protect citizens’ right to fully participate in the political life of the country.
We pray for the upwards of 100,000 people who have been sentenced, without trial, to the Mainland's the labor-reeducation regime. We also keep in our hearts an awareness of all other inmates, including those appropriately or wrongly held in mental institutions. May they be treated humanely and justly, and may they have the fortitude to survive their incarceration. We extend the same prayer to all of the world's prisoners, not least of all those in Hong Kong.
We remember Hong Kong’s poor, who cannot afford air-conditioners and suffer from the current hot weather.
We pray for the world’s journalists, and mourn those who have lost their lives in the quest to keep us readers informed. We note with special sadness Asia Times correspondent Saleem Shazad, who was murdered probably by the ISI - Pakistani intelligence agency. Altogether, 37 journalists have been killed in Pakistan alone in the past ten years.
Regarding our own church, Lord helps us as we embark on the redevelopment and maintenance of the old church buildings. May these spaces be put to the best possible use for the benefit of our church and the community at large, and for your Glory.
We pray for members and their families who are sick and weak, especially Rev Tan, and for the family of Rey Asis, whose father has passed away.
And finally, thanks be to God for the many sisters and brothers who, in their various capacities, make this the wonderful church that it is. We pray for the health and spirit of Church leaders and lay persons who serve God, and the congregation, in Christ’s mission.
And now let us, each in our own language, join together in prayer as Jesus taught us: [The Lord's Prayer].
Sunday, 10 July, 2011
Jim Seymour
Lord, we pray for peace, and demilitarization. Nuclear weapons developed and accumulated by many countries, both rich and poor, would, if deployed, cause massive destruction. We pray for nations to live in peace and harmony.
May the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court be able to live up to their promise and become instruments of cooperation, law, and the prevention of war.
In this phase of the ecumenical prayer cycle, we join in solidarity with our fellow Christians to pray for the people and churches of Costa Rica, El.Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama. We pray for sexual minorities in El Salvador, a country seriously infected by homophobia.
We also pray for the people of Africa, where we rejoice at how many countries have made much progress in recent years in freeing the human spirit and modernizing secular institutions. May the Anglican Christian communities in Africa and the Western world hold together in the spirit of tolerance and "judge not, lest ye be judged." Matthew 7:1
In the eastern horn, a drought has hit many people, who are now suffering from famine, with a hundred thousand fleeing to refuges, while others have been unable to do so. May the Hong Kong Christian Council succeed in its appeal to the churches for financial assistance for the affected areas.
We pray for our brother Abraham, and rejoice that he has found a way to serve his fellow Cameroonians.
May the often misguided leaders in the Middle-East revisit the tenets of the founders of their various religions, and find therein the messages of peace, love, and forbearance. May both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, having much right on their side, exercise restraint and return to the letter and spirit of the 1993 Oslo accords.
We rejoice in the peaceful and democratic outcome of the recent election in Thailand. May that country have seen the end of the turmoil that in recent years had come to characterize the political life of the country.
We pray for the leaders of all the nations and factions fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan; may they know the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peace- makers, for they will be called children of God." Mathew 5:9
We pray for the victims of poor quality construction on mainland China, including the man killed, and others who were injured, in an accident that occurred in Beijing due escalator mal-function.
We pray for the souls of the Chinese miners who die at the average rate seven per week. We keep the sacrifice of such people in mind as we enjoy our electricity, produced by the coal that these brave men pull up from the dangerous depths.
We note with at least a little satisfaction the release from prison of activist Hu Jia and the artist Ai Weiwei. May their home confinements be brief.
We pray for the reform of China’s legal system, and for the protection of lawyers who advocate building up civil society to protect citizens’ right to fully participate in the political life of the country.
We pray for the upwards of 100,000 people who have been sentenced, without trial, to the Mainland's the labor-reeducation regime. We also keep in our hearts an awareness of all other inmates, including those appropriately or wrongly held in mental institutions. May they be treated humanely and justly, and may they have the fortitude to survive their incarceration. We extend the same prayer to all of the world's prisoners, not least of all those in Hong Kong.
We remember Hong Kong’s poor, who cannot afford air-conditioners and suffer from the current hot weather.
We pray for the world’s journalists, and mourn those who have lost their lives in the quest to keep us readers informed. We note with special sadness Asia Times correspondent Saleem Shazad, who was murdered probably by the ISI - Pakistani intelligence agency. Altogether, 37 journalists have been killed in Pakistan alone in the past ten years.
Regarding our own church, Lord helps us as we embark on the redevelopment and maintenance of the old church buildings. May these spaces be put to the best possible use for the benefit of our church and the community at large, and for your Glory.
We pray for members and their families who are sick and weak, especially Rev Tan, and for the family of Rey Asis, whose father has passed away.
And finally, thanks be to God for the many sisters and brothers who, in their various capacities, make this the wonderful church that it is. We pray for the health and spirit of Church leaders and lay persons who serve God, and the congregation, in Christ’s mission.
And now let us, each in our own language, join together in prayer as Jesus taught us: [The Lord's Prayer].
posted by Kowloon Union Church | 10:13 am
