Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 27 October, 2019

Prepared and led by Ernest Pobee

Let Us Pray

God of Life and Love, we come before you with thanks, praise and adoration for all you have and done and continue to do in our lives. As we appreciate Your many blessings in our lives, we bring before You our brothers and sisters all over the world in need of help and hope.

We bring before You the people of Chile. There are tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets in Santiago in protest over inequality, low wages, expensive education and healthcare. During this period, over 2,410 people have been arrested including minors. We pray that the leaders of Chile be brave and passionate enough to address these issues affecting the citizens of Chile. This way, justice and peace may prevail. We also pray that governments around the world not forget their mandate, which is primarily to protect and serve their respective citizens.

We continue to pray for peaceful dialogue in places with political unrest, especially in Catalan where pro-independence figures have been jailed for attempting a separation of Catalan from Spain. Protests have broken out against the central government in response to their imprisonment. We pray for peaceful dialogue towards resolutions amongst leaders, and also peaceful expression of political opinions in Catalan.

Father God, we bring before You thirty-nine people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in the United Kingdom. We pray that their souls rest in peace. We also pray that steps be taken not just in the UK but all other places so that preventable losses of life never happen again.

In the US and Canada, we remember our brothers and sisters experiencing power outages due to the outbreak of wildfires in California. We pray that such preventive measures prove effective in preventing the loss of life and property through wildfire. We also entreat You to grant rescue personnel strength and endurance in the course of their work to save lives.

Dear Lord, Hong Kong will hold District Council elections in November. This is one of the few ways citizens are able to express their views on the governance of their city. We pray for peace and a successful election process. We pray that everyone who exercises their right to vote is able to do so in peace and without fear of attacks or coercion. We also bring all election candidates before You and pray that HongKongers make electoral choices towards better lives for the city’s various districts. We also pray that councillors who will be elected serve the community, do so with humility and commitment.

Lord God we bring before you the churches of Canada and the United States of America. We remember churches in our prayers, that they continue to witness and preach boldly the gospel regardless of the various evolving aspects of society.

We also pray for indigenous peoples in their struggles for survival, basic human rights, healing and also reconciliation for their persecutors. We pray for new immigrants in these countries, and also for policies which effectively counter systemic greed in the exploitation of communities and natural resources. We also pray that governments around the world carry out the task of prioritizing the concerns of their citizens and ensuring peace in their respective countries.

In our congregation Lord we give You thanks for the good recovery of Joy Camo. We also pray for Jade and ask for strength and endurance during her treatment.

Finally for Holly and Guy, we offer thanks for the gift of life and love. We pray that they continue to live in Your ways and that You always be the Head of their household.

These, amongst others, we humbly ask in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 6 October, 2019

Prepared and led by Nam Boo Won

God of Justice and peace.

We thank you for allowing us to pray in this sanctuary for our neighbours, near and far around the world, who are in need or suffering from different reasons and causes.

We first pray for Hong Kong and its people. While China celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, demonstrating its military might to the world,  violent clashes erupted across Hong Kong as thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets as a “day of mourning”. The shooting of a high school student by a policeman shocked and enraged Hong Kong people and the world, which never happened in the recent history of Hong Kong. We are worried God that the government’s sudden law enforcement banning wearing mask in the protest may aggravate already worsening situation in Hong Kong. 

We pray to you Lord, for those who have been injured in the protests and those who have been arrested. We particularly remember the young students in this movement. We pray that the government and police stop using excessive force against the protesters to reduce life-threatening damage to human lives, and the protesters as well, use non-violent approach in the pursuit for freedom, human rights and democracy. We seek your divine intervention in this troubled time so that God’s true love, justice and peace reign here and now.

Oh Lord,

We heard a news that a Pakistani court sentenced the brother of Qandeel Baloch, a social media star, to life in prison for her murder. He allegedly said he had killed her to preserve the family’s honour after she posted pictures of herself online.  

Oh God who judges all human cultures,

We pray that the cultural practices, such as honour killing and female genital mutilation that are detrimental to human life and freedom,  will disappear by your judgement and intervention, so that all cultures should be able to promote abundant life for all - the gift of God - regardless of gender, ethnicity, nationality or religion.

We also heard that the suffering of the people in Kashmir has deepened because of the constitutional amendment abruptly made by Indian government to downgrade Jammu & Kashmir from a partly autonomous state to a territory administered by the central government. We remember the past history of the bitter conflicts between India and Pakistan surrounding Kashmir.

Oh healing God,

Extend your healing hand to those who are suffering from the prolonged conflicts between India and Pakistan. We pray that reconcilication and lasting peace will be restored in the area by your grace and intervention. 

God of the creation and creating

Two weeks ago, we heard 12 years old Gretha Tunberi (툰버리) spoke in front of UN General Assembly, and in front of humanity on the urgency of combating climate change. Still, we heard the news that a large section of the Mont Blanc glacier on the Italian side could collapse soon, if the oceans continue to suffer from climate change, and the very earth seems to shudder with destruction. We pray to you Lord that the leaders and citizens of the world prioritize the solumn duty to care for your creation above pursuing money and power.

God of the voiceless and powerless,

We pray for refugees and asylum seekers in the world. We got the news that Greece's resident refugee population has grown from  50,000 to 88,750, according to the UNHCR. With the recent conservative Greek government's toughening refugee policy, police already evicted 546 migrants from central Athens squats. We pray that more countries are willing to show hospitality to the refugees. May God keep them safe, and that they can reunite with their families soon. And beyond Greece and Europe, we also pray those many refugees and asylum-seekers in different countries to be given space and  freedom to live their life in diginity.      

For this week’s Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, we lift up our prayers for the people and churches of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama – the Latin American countries. May we remember the children and youth who are traumatized by prolonged conflicts and violence and flee to other lands. We also pray for an end to gang violence and drug trafficking rampant in these countries. We pray for more just distribution of wealth that enables the millions who have been excluded to have access to a dignified life in these countries.

We finally pray for our church and the Congregation. We are thankful, Oh Lord, for holding us together in your love, in this trouble time in Hong Kong. We pray for all our members, including those who are sick or out of Hong Kong, to be firm in their faith in you as we prepare the  95th anniversary thanksgiving service next Month. May each one of us be united as one, and experience the love from each other and be proactive and faithful in practising your mission both individually and collectively as a Church in this Kairos time. We continue to pray for those who are seeking for comfort from physical pain and illness.

With gratefulness, we pray all these in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.