Today’s thoughts are provided by Rev. Alexis Mahoney.
You can download a copy of these prayers here.
New ways of living:
Most people don’t like change, do they? I know from my own experiences that change can bring with it anxiety and even resentment.
However, change can also bring excitement and hope that the ‘something new’ will bring with it a better way of being or living. I suppose it depends on whether your natural inclinations are that of an optimist or a pessimist. Or whether the changes taking place are desirable or not, or whether you have a certain degree of control over them. And also whether there’ll be any sacrifices of an ‘old’ way of living that you’ve been accustomed to and fond of.
One thing’s for sure, times have changed for us now. And one of the things being in lockdown has done is bring to the fore the forthcoming potential of a ‘new normal’ of a post-Covid world. Basically, everything has changed, and we need to prepare for and envision a new normal.
President Macron of France recently said that “this is not a time for falling back on comfortable ideology. We need to get off the beaten track, reinvent ourselves, find new ways of living”. And I have to agree with him. And I think that this applies as much to our wider society and culture as it does for our churches, our Circuits and our Synod.
I fully realise that there’s been a call for the church to adapt and change for many, many years, and that I’m definitely not the first to say this. But maybe, just maybe, this now is our opportunity to fully reflect on what it might mean for us to make those changes that we’ve been too worried to contemplate, let alone implement.
“Lord Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
When Jesus Christ came into the world you created,
he gave us a message of hope of love for all the world.
Through his grace and love for us all,
which overflows with such profligate generosity,
he also gave us his own life on The Cross.
And, Lord of wonder and miracle,
you also gave us the wonderful hope of resurrection and new life.
We are an Easter people who live to be born anew,
to love, and be loved by you.
Lord, we ask that you give us the courage and comfort of the Holy Spirit as we face change in our lives.
As we face a new normal in our society and cultures,
let it be one which contains a continuity of what is good from the old,
and likewise let us see clearly what needs to be changed.
Gracious Lord, we know how much you love us and love your Church,
So we pray that our churches, our Circuits and our Synod be filled with new hope and a clear vision for what will be our own new normal.
Let our new vision be one which is clear enough to know that it is of You,
and that we may be brave enough to see it through.
For thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on Earth,
as it is in heaven.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
