Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 21 October, 2018

Prepared and led by Ramon Bultron

Brothers and Sisters, TOGETHER, LET US PRAY......

God of mercy, love and compassion, by your spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified. Receive our prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in our vocation and ministry,

we may truly and reverently serve you well.

O’ God, we thank you for our life, dignity and our being. You have blessed us with the gift of life and a world to live in. In you, we are blessed and we offer praises and thanks.

In your holly name, we sincerely pray for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, prisoners, victims, people who are displaced, the unemployed and those in need.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among us that love and peace are fruits of righteousness.

We pray to you our heavenly Father for your children who are in the middle of conflicts and war in different places in the world and who continue to experience all forms of repressions due to greediness and injustices committed by those in power. May God comfort them and that they experience peace, love and justice.

Dear God, we ask for your mercy and compassion for we never learned how to safeguard and nurture all of your creations. Now we continue to suffer from the effects of climate change amidst your children's clamor to protect the environment, we pray that leaders of today will seriously address the root causes of climate change and those affected be given justice.

Specifically, we continue to pray for the victims of the recent environmental disasters in Indonesia and elsewhere. May the families of those who were affected be comforted, and those displaced be able to rebuild their homes and lives soon.

We also pray to you O’ God to continuously guide us and the leaders of the world in prioritizing people’s interest over profit especially at this time of rising poverty at the midst of the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and the recent commemoration of the international day for the eradication of poverty.

We also pray for your churches in China who continuously asserting their rights for religious beliefs. May they continue to strengthen and defend their faith amidst the repressions and religious persecution.

We also pray for social justice and a more equal share of resources to all in Hong Kong. We pray for the rule of law and civil rights and may eco-justice and sustainability be considered by government of Hong Kong in reclaiming lands.

Dear God, we pray for justice and peace in the Philippines as more election-related violence has been documented. We also pray for your guidance and blessings for the people of Marawi, a city ravaged by war and conflict.

We also pray for migrants and refugees around the world and in Hong Kong. The ten-thousand strong people’s mobilization against racism and xenophobia in Germany continue to inspire us. May your blessed hands, touches them so they can gain more strength and wisdom to face challenges in life.

Dearest God, may you guide our council members in their work in crafting an anti-sexual harassment policy for our congregation to build a community with mutual respect and freedom from all forms of violence.

We also pray for our Pastor Maggie, may she have a restful vacation and enjoyable moment with her family in Scotland. We also pray for the recovery of little Annabel, Lucy, Mae Mae Bondoc and Revd Kwok Nai Wang.

We also pray for the people and Churches of the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

  

We pray for greater respect for the human rights of all the peoples living in these countries, and just changes for those living in situations of poverty and discrimination.

O' God, you are worthy to receive honor and blessings and praise. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.

AMEN.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 14 October, 2018

Prepared and led by Emelia Pobee

Let us bow our heads in prayer…

Heavenly father, we are grateful for yet another Sunday. We thank you for your protection, mercy, grace and guidance each and every day. As your children, we come before you yet again committing the world to your care.

As the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty approaches this Wednesday, we pray for those who continue to live below the poverty line the world over, those who because of poverty, live without dignity. We pray for social justice and a proper management of resources by those in power. We also pray for empathy and wisdom among industry leaders around the world to make decisions and policies that will benefit the less fortunate in society.

We also pray for the earth that we inhabit. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change has showed that climate change is happening at an even faster rate than we thought. Even as we have shirked our duties to protect the earth through our own selfishness, we pray that individuals will be become more aware of their environment and that authorities will take more active and committed steps to deal with this problem.

We commit for the people of Indonesia into your care as another earthquake hit Java and claimed 3 lives. We continue to pray for those who are trying to recover from the earthquake and Tsunami that has claimed more than 2,000 lives in Palu. We pray that relief efforts be efficient and reach the most hard hit. We also pray for strength for the members of the community as they try to rebuild their lives.

In Saudi Arabia we pray for your guidance and protection for critics of the government as many have been found dead under mysterious circumstances and others have gone missing. We pray for tolerance in the government. May truth and justice prevail.

In China, we pray for churches that are undergoing persecutions from the government. We pray for a day soon to come where people in the mainland will have their freedom to worship. We also pray for those who have been imprisoned and tortured, grant them solace in these trying times.

In Hong Kong, we pray that following the policy address, short term and long term solutions toward solving the current housing crises will be actively and diligently pursued to improve the lives of the vulnerable. We also pray that those in authority in proffering solutions to economic and social development will not fail to protect the environment.

In our ecumenical prayer cycle, we pray for the churches in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. We thank you O Lord for their development. We pray for an end to corruption, drug trafficking and violence in these countries.

In our congregation, we pray for the church council as they prepare an anti-sexual harassment policy. Grant members wisdom, knowledge and understanding in drafting policies that will lead to mutual respect and freedom from all forms of violence.

Heavenly father, we are thankful for the safe arrival of baby Pascal from new parents Winsy and Sameth. We also pray for Pastor Maggie who is on leave. We pray she has a restful vacation and joins us back here in November.

We all pray for the recovery of little Annabel, Lucy, Mae Mae Bondock and Revd Kwok.

This we pray in name of Jesus Christ or Lord. Amen.

And now as our father taught us, let’s say the Lord ’s Prayer. Feel free to say it in your own language….

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 7 October, 2018

Prepared and led by Robert Lam

Dear Lord:

At this World Communion Sunday, we come to you with grateful and humble hearts, thanking you for your gift of the Bread and Wine, symbol of your great love and sacrifice for us.

Help us to look beyond ourselves and the church to the Great Body of believers worshipping you in different parts of the world today: in beautiful cathedrals or in simple and basic shelters; worshipping you freely and openly or in confined and difficult situations. You are present in each and all of these locations and situations.

Help us also to strive for the Unity of the Faith, recognizing that you have given different gifts and discernment. Lord we live in a very polarized world, each with their different understanding and interpretation of the Word, different focus to the work of the church and their role as salt and light in this fallen world.

We thank you for Kowloon Union Church, for this special ministry of welcoming and reaching out to believers of different nationalities and cultures, and different faith experience; the ministry of reaching out to the marginalized and the forgotten, firmly believing that we are all One in Christ, that the ‘differentness’ is the beauty and gift of your creation.

We pray for the world:

For the immense loss of lives and properties due to the earthquake and the subsequent tsunamis in Sulawesi, particularly at Palu and Donggala. We pray for the many lives lost and for those whose bodies are yet to be found. We pray that you give strength to the communities in rebuilding infrastructure and for the livelihood of the people devastated by this natural disaster.

We pray for the victims of sexual abuse and assaults in the workplace, in church and at home. We pray for your healing, particularly those who have come forward to relive these painful experience so that community and Government can bring the perpetrators to justice.

We pray for China:

We pray for wisdom for this government in handling the trade war and the people and industries affected and as China adjusts to fairer trade practices.

We pray for the people living under curtailed freedom of expression, freedom to information and freedom to dissent on the injustices in the system. We give thanks to the release of Liu Xia and we continue to pray for those who are in prison because their crime is to speak out against the injustices in the system.

We pray for Hong Kong:

We pray for the unfair and unjust refusal to the renewal of visa to a moderator at the Foreign Correspondents Club, for the singling out of an individual to warn dissenters who speak out against or differently to Government policies.

We pray for the forthcoming Policy Address and pray that Government will allocate more funding and resources for the elderly, the poor and the marginalized.

We pray all these in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,

AMEN