Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 22 November 2020

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Prepared by Maggie Mathieson adapted from Spill the Beans

Led by Lydia Catedral and Tong Chong Sze

Lord,
We come to you bringing our prayers for others and ourselves.
Lord, we see you, kneeling at our feet,
showing us how to serve and be served.
Help us, Lord, to be a servant for you and others.
 
Lord, we see you, touching the unclean,
showing us how to heal and be healed.
Help us, Lord, to be healers.
 
Lord, we see you, hanging out with outcasts,
showing us how to be in community.
Help us, Lord, to live as community
So may we follow your example,
seeing the need in our world
and being first in line to step up and make a difference.
Help us, Lord, step up for you.

May we also recognise our own limitations
and make room for those who are differently-abled and differently gifted, knowing that in the economy of your kingdom, no gift is wasted, no talent rejected.
Help us, Lord, to accept and understand.
 
Lord, when we despair at the state of our world,
may our despair compel us to join you in the work
of peace and justice for all, beginning wherever we are,
following your lead.
We remember those lands that have been hit by natural and human made disasters, may God’s comfort strengthen those who have lost loved ones and their livelihood. Lord, bless those who continue to take to the needy supplies and that most important message of hope and love.
 
We pray your hand of blessing and protection be upon those who call out for justice and strive for democracy. Those who have given their lives exposing the injustice of governments and ‘systems’
 
We pray this day for all those throughout the world who have contacted Covid19. Today and in many other countries, numbers have increased of confirmed cases. As this pandemic continues throughout the world resources dwindle and the most vulnerable are again the most deeply affected.
 
We remember the families who lost loved ones in the tenement building in our neighbourhood – may those who have died rest in peace, their families be comforted and the community strengthened at this time of great sorrow.

Lord may we know your healing, in our lives,

in the life of our community, in the life of the world.

May we live so conscious of your presence in all

that we cannot turn our back or withhold your love from another, but know fulfilment only when we have given our all to serve you by serving our neighbour.

So God, one radical act of kindness at a time, may your kingdom come, on earth as in heaven.

And so with one voice and in one accord we share the  words given to us by Christ as we pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread. 

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of Intercession

Sunday, 15 November 2020

Twenty-Forth Sunday after Pentecost

Prepared and led by Rey Asis

Parent God, Bearer of all that is good, Giver of life and hope, Source of love and our happiness, we thank You for gifting us every single moment we open our eyes to the beauty of living, for every breath we take, for every beat our hearts make. This year has been full of challenges yet You never leave our side. It is through Your grace that we are strong and wilful. Thank you for living in each and everyone of us.

It is also through Your grace that we include in our prayer every woman and girl child, especially those in situations that make them vulnerable to violence. As we commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we continue to hear stories of rape, murder and violation of women - may it be in a remote town in Pakistan or right in the heart of the city like Benghazi. May we be like Your Son Jesus Christ in giving high regard to women, whether it was His mother Mary or the Samaritan woman.

We pray for the upholding and protection of truth and democracy, especially in places where journalists are silenced through the barrel of the gun for exposing injustice, where lawmakers are threatened for taking a side, where a critic is maligned by their own government. A climate of impunity brings fear, uncomfortable silence, and forced submission. Please be with us, Lord God, as we hope to be vigilant in the midst of repression, pronounced or otherwise.

We pray for the children and the academic community of Hong Kong as the government announced another two week of school suspension due to a spike in cold outbreaks. May these health crises in Hong Kong or wherever in the world eventually subside, that nothing untoward would occur, and that everyone is safe. We also pray that the vaccine to the Coronavirus be made available to all, that the health of the world’s people be prioritized over the profits of pharmaceutical corporations. 

We lift in our prayer today the churches and people of all faiths of East Timor, Indonesia and Philippines, especially those in Luzon and nearby islands of the Philippines, pummelled heavily by a series of strong typhoons in the past three weeks. We pray for immediate relief, refuge and recovery for all families and communities displaced by the floods. We pray for the goodness of hearts of people who can give whatever they can to the needy. May those who are in power follow in Your way and truly serve the people.

For our congregation, we pray for the safety of workers rehabilitating the bell tower and everyone entering the church during the renovation period; we pray for the smooth and successful extraordinary general meeting that we will hold this afternoon; the full recovery of Phyllis’ sister, Sai Fung, who went through her heart surgery last Friday, please continue giving strength to her as well as to Mercy’s sister Wasanthi and Connie’s grandmother; and we pray for Linda and Samuel, who will go back to the Philippines for good. We will miss them, we will keep them in our prayers as they go home in the midst of the COVID-19. There are no goodbyes, just see you later. 

You are in the sun's rays that welcome us every waking morning. You are in the branches of trees that wave us hello when we come into the church today. You are in the smiles of everyone here in this service, of the people we love, of this city. May we radiate with Your love as we go through our Sunday and in the coming days. We pray this through Your most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Prayer of Intercession
Sunday, 8 November 2020
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
Prepared and led by Nam Boo Won


We thank you, Lord, for your invitation for the congregation to pray for our neighbours, near and far, following the teachings of Jesus Christ.  

We pray for the USA and its people, whose deep division is laid bare in the results of the Presidential and national elections. Standing with those who honour democratic values and principles, we pray for justice, truth and integrity to be prevalent in the nation. Bless the newly elected President and other leaders so that they could restore the broken democracy, heal the wounds of deep division, and truly serve the people for the common good of the country and the world as well. May there be a peaceful transition of power, and the government be able to protect their people as the country battles a new surge of Covid-19 cases exceeding 100,000 a day.

We sadly witnessed Typhoon Goni slammed into the Philippine Islands of Catanduanes and Luson, bringing the most ferocious landfalls ever recorded. More than 20 people died and 25,000 homes were destroyed….O God of Mercy! Heal the wounds and pains of the affected people and re-store their livelihood.      

We remember the 73 Palestinians who have lost their homes in West Bank after Israel demolished their dwellings without notice. 
God of Justice! We plead with you to provide them with shelter, as well as perseverance of hope not to give up their struggle for justice and peace, as they live through long-running conflicts and injustice. 

There are alarming reports recently that conflicts and violence are surging rapidly in several parts of Africa. Tension in Ethiopia is particularly high as the political leaders accuse each other to win political power. We pray for peace, trusting God will eventually bring it to the soil amid the toughest circumstances. May His righteousness prevail therein as well as the whole Africa who are still suffering enormously from the deadly legacy of the colonial pillage in the past.  

We mourn the killing of four people in Vienna, where a suspected terrorist has injured 23 others in a gun attack. O Lord! Why these attacks and revenges keep on happening? We lift Austria up to you and pray that your radical love will counter radical violence. 

Again, we pray for Hong Kong. Amid mounting concerns about freedom of the press herein, we remember Bao Choy, the investigative journalist who was arrested for reporting on the 21 July incident with RTHK, as well as others striving to document and uncover what's happening in our city. We plead with you, O Lord, to bless and protect all seekers of truth and grant us wisdom to discern what is true and what is false.

Now, for the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, We lift up in prayer today the churches and people of all faiths of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia.

• We are thankful for the way the people have welcomed new immigrants; and how churches have witnessed and worked together ecumenically, amid challenges of apathy in highly secularized societies.

• We pray for churches to have the imagination and energy to build bridges of understanding in increasingly multi-religious and multi-cultural contexts; those who work tirelessly on issues of justice for the poor, the marginalized and the dispossessed, especially indigenous peoples; those seeking refuge in these countries, and careful preservation of the fragile land, sea, and resources.

We also pray for the Congregation. 

• We thank you, God, for providing us with this beautiful heritage of KUC building. As the AMO will start the second round of renovation, we pray for the safety of workers and everyone who are entering in and out the church premise.

• We pray for the ministers and church leaders as they are planning for the church ministries and preparing the budget for next year. Guide them to serve with clear vision and wisdom in unity of Christ. 

• We continue to remember in our prayer our friends who are encountering different kinds of life challenges and those who are in the healing process: Wasanthi (Mercy's sister), Connie's grandmother and Oscar Marquez (Thelma's brother).

We pray all these in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Prayer of Intercession
Sunday, 1 November, 2020
Prepared and led by Judy Chan

This morning, the response to the petition, Lord in your mercy is …Hear our prayer. Let us pray:

O Lord, here we are after another week in a weary world. A world demanding our attention with bad news, sad news, fake news. Even glimpses of hope are darkened by persistent doubts and fear. 

And yet, here we are in this place. To worship you. To remember you are God, you created this world and called it good. And is that not Good News itself, that our church is open? That we are together? That we can lay our burdens before you, asking for the help that only you can give, seeking your guidance for the help that only we might give. To witness to the world that love, truth, justice, peace, healing are possible today – because of Jesus Christ. 

So, today, we lift up to you our prayers for your church and your world.

-Lord, the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in hotspots around the globe, especially Europe and USA. Even though things are under better control in Asia, none of us is safe until everyone is safe. Help us work together as a global community to care for everyone’s well-being, especially those suffering the effects of COVID-19 in body, mind or spirit. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-We pray for our earth as natural disasters continue to wreak havoc on the creation. We remember those in Vietnam and the Philippines affected by Typhoon Molave, those in Turkey and Greece hit by a powerful earthquake on Friday. May they quickly receive comfort, treatment, rescue, shelter, food and restoration of livelihood and community life. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-We pray for calm and healing in France where religious violence and terrorism threaten the nation. How tragic that the latest murders in a church in Nice have sowed death in a place of love and consolation. We pray for the victims, their families, their communities, the churches and all people of faith in France and around the world. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-We pray for our young people in Hong Kong, especially activists seeking safety and protection. Whatever charges they face, whatever acts they have done, surely it is our duty and your will that we protect our children, that we give them a future with hope. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-For our church, we pray for the leadership in this critical time of discernment for our future mission. We also remember those in our KUC family needing prayers for healing and strength - Lucy, Drew, Sai Fung, Wasanthi, Oscar, Thelma, Connie's grandmother, and all those close to our hearts whose troubles are never forgotten by you. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

-Finally, in the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle we lift up the churches and people of all faiths in Oceania. Let us close with a prayer from Tonga: 

O God, save our shores from the weapons of death,

our lands from the things that deny our young ones love and freedom.

Let the seas of the Pacific Ocean carry messages of peace and goodwill.

Turn away from our midst any unkind and brutal practices.

Let each child swim and breathe the fresh air

that is filled by the Holy Spirit.

O Lord Jesus, bless all who are makers of that inner peace

that breaks down the barriers of hatred,

and unite us with the open arms of your cross,

that all the peoples of the world may live happily together. Amen.  

(Prayer by Amanuka Havea, Tonga, published in Your Will Be Done 

© Christian Conference of Asia Youth, Hong Kong, 1984.)