Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 22 May, 2016

Ramon Bultron

Our People’s Prayer this Trinity Sunday & Asia Sunday will be in the form of a Thanksgiving Litany. The Prayer will be projected on the wall. After each prayer point, there will be a response from the congregation. Those words in color blue will be for the MOE to lead and words in red color will be for the congregation to read. We will end with the singing of The Lord’s Prayer.  

LET US PRAY.....

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us and our ecumenical partners in Asia and elsewhere.

For the education needs of our young ones in the region provided by Wa Youth Centre and Saw Lu in Myanmar, Child Care Centre in Odisha and Love India, United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Tondo, Manila, Youth Advocate for Peace, Kasimbayan-Dambana in Philippines and the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.

God, we thank you for your blessings in nurturing our young ones, the future leaders of our communities.

For the refuge provided by Holy Family Orphanage in Sri lanka, Lisa's Home in India, Holy Ghost and Agape Home in Cameroon for children who are orphans and victims of armed conflicts, widespread diseases, calamities, family conflicts and racism, among other reasons.

God, we thank you for your kindness and continued blessings in providing shelter to our homeless children in need.

For the temporary refuge provided by Bethune House to the migrant women in distress, Christian Action for refugees and asylum seekers, and other services provided by United Filipinos in Hong Kong or UNIFIL and the Asosiasi Tenaga Kerja Indonesia or ATKI serving migrant workers in Hong Kong.

God, we thank you for the roof that protects the distressed women and for giving them strength in their struggle for survival.

For the services provided by Shwe Zet Baptist Church for the training of women in Myanmar and Zi Teng for women sex workers in Hong Kong.  

God, we thank you and pray that you will always remember these women amidst their trials in life.

For the services, awareness, empowerment and human rights advocacies of  the Moro Women’s Center in Mindanao, Philippines and for all valiant seekers of truth, liberty and justice.

God, we thank you for the courage and commitments of our sisters and brothers who are seeking justice, equality and peace on earth.

Dear God, we pray for the people of countries in conflict. Those who have been affected by disasters, natural and human made, that they be comforted and strengthened in the love of God. And for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by necessity or by force in this world.

We pray for your heavenly grace that brings genuine peace and democracy to shine upon your Children.

Dear God, we pray to those who are ill in hospital or at home, for all those involved in their care as well as our senior members. We also pray for Nina and the Cheungs as they make preparations to leave Hong Kong and return to Indonesia and USA respectively. We pray for our AGM today that God has already prepared the hearts of those God has called to serve in KUC.

God, hear our prayers.

In the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, we pray for the people and churches of Malawi and Zambia. Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. 

AMEN.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven

Hallowed be Thy name

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

On earth, as it is in heaven

Give us this day, our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory

Forever, Amen. 

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 15 May, 2016

Rey Asis

O Lord God, Creator and Redeemer

We bow our heads in humility

We raise our arms, our hands wide open

Praising you with all our hearts

Welcoming you to reside in our corpus and spirits

Make us instruments of your peace, of your love, of your Word.

O Lord, we ask for your forgiveness

For times when we tumble and make mistakes

Most especially on days when we fail to admit these mistakes.

Give us the strength to stand up from our fall

And help others who too have fallen.

We thank you for the gift of life

For a world that is so diverse

Yet harmoniously uniting

May we, your church, be worthy pillars

Of this unity, of this togetherness, of this place we call home.

We bring in our prayers

Our brothers and sisters

Who have suffered and succumbed to tragedies

Both natural and man-made

Especially those in Baghdad, Ethiopia and the Pacific.

May you give them comfort in these days of need

And those who have passed, welcome them to your fold.

We pray for those who brave the hard rains

As they stand up for justice

For those who have been weakened by age

Or physical limits

For the youth of our generation

And the young at heart

Bless them always and protect them

From any harm or ill will.

We pray for the churches and peoples of Kenya and Tanzania.

We pray for the leaders of Hong Kong and the world

May they be guided with a loving heart,

A listening ear and compassion for the many

As they help shape laws and our society

Within the bounds of human and community rights

With transparency, with accountability.

Lastly, we pray for our brothers and sisters

In Kowloon Union Church

We pray for Little Samuel, Ajmal Samuel, Revd Kwok Nai Wang and Saimon – may their health be as robust and bustling

We pray for Nina, Mr. and Mrs. Cheung as they go back

to their own families – may their travels be uneventful and their reunion heart-warming.

We pray for the wishes, requests and dreams of our church.

We pray for our church, please be there always with us.

This we pray with all our hearts, our minds, and our spirits

Through your son Jesus Christ, Amen.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 8 May, 2016

Mother’s Day

Bruce Van Voorhis

Creator God, today we honor our mothers and remember how they have given birth to us and have nurtured us throughout our lives. Through our times of joy and our times of sorrow, they have always stood beside us and supported us. Words are not adequate enough to express the immense blessing that our mothers are to our lives. Today, and throughout the year, we give thanks for our mothers in our lives.

Words are inadequate too to convey our gratitude to you as well, Mother God—the divine source of all physical and spiritual life. Without you, there is no life, no peace, no joy. On this Mother’s Day, we lift our hearts up to you in thanksgiving for your grace, your love, your wisdom, that is such a blessing to us.

Unfortunately, too often the human family does not preserve life, does not protect life, does not respect life. We especially lift our voices up today for peace for the people of the Middle East and North Africa, the people in particular in Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Yemen and Libya—people who have known violence and war daily for far too many years. We pray for an end to this destruction of life, property, livelihoods and dreams. May those who have lost loved ones be consoled, may those who are injured be healed, may those who are seeking refuge find food, shelter and, most of all, security.

As the ruling party holds its first congress in nearly 40 years in North Korea, we pray that fostering peace with its neighbors and the world will be at the top of the gathering’s agenda. For too long, the people of the Korean Peninsula have been held hostage to the tensions and distrust between the governments in the North and in the South. Preparations for war sap resources for education, health care and other important necessities of life. May today’s nuclear swords and spears be transformed into plowshares and pruning hooks, and may war and the threat of war become a relic of the past so that your peace may be people’s new experience of life in this part of the world.

We are saddened that schools have been burned to the ground in South Africa’s province of Limpopo as protesters demonstrate against the redrawing of district boundaries in the province that they fear will further prolong the provision of better housing and utilities. May your wisdom guide discussions to resolve this conflict without further violence and without the destruction of more schools that impedes the education of the area’s children.

We are concerned today about the Canadian wildfire devouring the area around Fort McMurray in Alberta. While we rejoice that the relatives of the Mendoza family in our midst are safe, we pray for the safety of others who are threatened by the fire. We pray too for those fighting this inferno and ask that rain will soon come to aid them.

In Hong Kong, we give thanks for the freedom of religion that we enjoy. We pray that this respect for all faiths will spread to mainland China as well so that Muslims in the northwestern areas of the country and Tibetan Buddhists in particular can practice their faith in peace without any restrictions.

In our community, we lift up to you villagers in the northeastern New Territories whose homes were recently demolished by the government in the name of development. We ask that they will be justly compensated and resettled as a community in a new area soon and that their voices will guide the resettlement process.

Our prayers today are also for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the unemployed, the lonely in our city who may feel alienated and lost. Bless them, Lord, with food, with shelter, with work, with love, with hope.

We also pray today for other marginalized people in our society—our community’s sexual minorities. May the launch of the Covenant of the Rainbow’s booklet affirming pastoral care for Christian sexual minorities offer them care, compassion, respect and dignity as God’s children. May this publication help integrate them into the household of God.

With our brothers and sisters around the world, we pray today for the people and churches of Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda. These nations have suffered from too much violence, too much poverty, too much mistrust and too much corruption for too many years. May the power of your peace and your love, Lord, replace the power of greed that infects these nations. May the lives of our African sisters and brothers be transformed by the transformation of the priorities of their leaders.

In our own faith community, we pray for renewed health for little Samuel, Ajmal, Amor, Saimon and the Rev. Kwok Nai-wang as well as Bishop and Mrs. Samuel. Today we also give thanks for the return of Han In-kyu and Nam Boo-won as they reaffirm and reactivate their membership with us and become once again part of the Christian family at Kowloon Union Church. Lastly, Lord, we ask that your wisdom will guide us as we hold the annual general meeting of our congregation in two weeks so that the outcome of our deliberations may reflect the role that you intend for us in our community and in the world.

We lift these prayers up to you, Creator God, on this day that we celebrate the gift of life and those who have given it to us—our mothers and you. Amen.

And now may we share with God the prayer that his Son taught us in your own language if you wish.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 1 May 2016

Judy Chan

There are many needy souls, but few of us who take time to really pray for them.

There are many suffering bodies, yet too few helpers to minister to them

In our prayers of the people, let us pledge ourselves to both loving prayer and loving deed.

At the end of each petition, I will say “Come with your peace, Lord Jesus” and you respond “Please come and heal your people.”

Let us pray.

Reconciling God, we pray for the peace of the world especially in the Middle East and Syria. May your ‘regime of calm’ be with civilians whose daily lives are subject to war, terrorism and death. We give thanks for the life of Dr Muhammed Waseem Moaz, who along with others died in the bombing of the hospital while trying to save the lives of the innocent. Please continue your divine patience with us, and help us move closer to the destiny you promise.

Come with your peace, Lord Jesus;

Please come and heal your people.

For the exposure of all injustices, and for a new courage from all nations to outlaw them. We pray for migrants and refugees in search of protection wherever they are – in Europe, in Papua New Guinea, in Hong Kong and those displaced in their own country or in neighboring lands.

Come with your peace, Lord Jesus;

Please come and heal your people.

For the protection of creation, a fairer sharing of the earth’s resources and the feeding of the hungry. We pray for those suffering from drought, flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters, remembering especially the people of Venezuela.

Come with your peace, Lord Jesus;

Please come and heal your people.

For labourers everywhere, for dignity in their jobs, fair working conditions, decent pay to support their families, and the right to rest.

Come with your peace, Lord Jesus;

Please come and heal your people.

For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation. We remember in our own congregation those in need of healing – little Samuel, Ajmal, Amor, Saimon, Rev Kwok and those in our hearts whose name is known to you.

Come with your peace, Lord Jesus;

Please come and heal your people.

For the church universal, for the churches and people of Eritrea and Ethiopia, for the body of Christ in Hong Kong and China, and for Kowloon Union Church. Make us one.

Come with your peace, Lord Jesus;

Please come and heal your people.

Reconciling God, we give you thanks for your mercy and grace, for the new life among us baby Blue Sea and her parents Jessica and Richard, for the new life that Christ offers each of us. Hear the prayers and longings of your people and fulfill them as may be best for us and for your kingdom. Grant us in this world to know your truth, and in the world to come to see your glory. Amen.

(With thanks for inspiration from Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church of Australia)