Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 5 August, 2012

Sunita Suna

God of Life, we thank you for your wonderfully designed world to experience and celebrate the gift of life with people around us, with the nature and with you.

We remember and uphold the affected people especially in the Philippines and Taiwan hit by the Typhoon Saola recently. We pray that the government, Churches, and communities provide the much needed support, aid, and prayers to the affected community. God, we also humble ourselves and seek your wisdom and guidance to protect this earth from the people who have been exploiting the earth for their profit and greed, and ultimately the poor people are facing the impact of unexpected natural disasters. Help us oh God to be the true stewards of your creation to protect life and nature.

God of Justice, you called us to seek justice, help the oppressed and bring justice to the oppressed. God, we remember the most oppressed and victimized Rohingya community in Myanmar who have been experiencing violence, oppression and humiliation by the authorities in Myanmar. God, we pray that the people in Myanmar and Bangladesh will change their hearts and minds and accept the Rohingya people to witness you, that diversity is the gift of your creation. We also pray for the political leaders who are fighting for democracy in the country, to ensure human rights for all the people belonging to various ethnic communities including the Rohingya community.

We also pray for the upcoming LegCo election in HK and the political leaders and the general public to perform their duty with wisdom and conscience

God of Peace, We continue to thank you for the KUC community, bringing people from different parts of the world to worship you together in communion. We remember our congregation members, family and friends who are unwell. Give them your healing touch oh God, and teach us to love and care for each other. We specially remember our brother Paul Bitsindou, who lost his sister Bert Bitsindou last week. While we thank for the life of our sister Bert, we pray that brother paul and his family will be consoled by you.

In the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, we pray for the people and churches of Canada and the U.S.A. especially the United Church of Canada as they prepare for their 41^st General Council Meeting in Ottawa. Bless their ministries to be witnessed among the people.

We pray this payer in the name of our Lord, Saviour and Liberator Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 22 July, 2012

Jim Seymour

Jesus declared: “I have said this to you, that in Me you may have peace” (John 16:33). In this spirit, Lord, we pray for universal peace, and demilitarization. Nuclear weapons developed and accumulated by many countries, both rich and poor, if deployed would cause massive destruction. We especially pray that Syria’s chemical weapons are not deployed. We pray for nations to live in harmony and mutual understanding. 

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 four Central American countries. Regarding Belize, we pray that the thriving ecotourism industry can continue to protect the natural environment while providing the population with a sustainable means of livelihood. We thank You God for 16 years of peace in Guatemala, following the end of the civil war there. We pray for the restoration of democracy in Honduras, after the 2009 coup d’état. Although we are grateful for the recent peaceful election in Mexico, we deplore the condition of the country’s indigenous population.

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. But we lament the worsening situation in the Congo, where rebel forces have taken control of various towns, forcing many men, women, and children to flee to Uganda. May God protect these refugees.

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.

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 pray that the world’s poor, who spend most of their incomes on food, will have enough to eat. The United States, which is the source of much of the world’s exported corn, wheat and soybeans, is experiencing the worst drought in fifty years, which may drive prices up out of reach around the world.

We pray for the leaders of all the nations and factions fighting in 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 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 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 labour-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 citizens informed. We note with special sadness Asia Times correspondent Saleem Shazad who was murdered in Pakistan. Altogether, 37 journalists have been killed in Pakistan alone in the past ten years. Worldwide, the figure is 924 (since 1992). Such is the sacrifice that these men and women make so that we may have the information that is our human right.

Regarding our own church, Lord help us as we continue to restore of the old church buildings and grounds. 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 who are sick and weak, and their families.

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 join together in prayer, each in our mother tongue, as Jesus taught us: [The Lord's Prayer].