A prayer for Sunday by the Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt Revd Colin Fletcher:
Almighty God we pray for all those who are suffering as a result of the recent flooding.
For those who are shocked.
For those who are frightened
For those who are feeling bereft
And for those who are now trying to get down to the long slog of sorting everything out.
We thank you that no one lost their life, and for the ways in which so many were able to help each other, but we pray for all those who have seen their homes, and businesses and farms so badly damaged.
Bless them, we pray, as they seek to rebuild what has been shattered and give them that sense that you are there in the midst of all their pain
For we ask it for the sake of the one who bears all our sorrows, Jesus Christ, Our Lord
Amen
From the Arthur Rank Centre:
Lord
In the pouring rain
And the rising flood
May I never forget
How near you are
Amen
In the actions of the emergency service
And the presence of volunteers
In the compassion and courage
Of ordinary men and women
We have discovered Christ walking amongst us.
Help us now we pray to meet him in each other
And in that to see our future And his purpose.
Amen
Litany for an agricultural crisis - from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Let us pray for the whole body of Christ and for all people according to their needs.
For all nations of the world that they may be good stewards of the earth and encourage wise practices and policies in the area of food production.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
For your body, the church, that we may share the Gospel as we work for justice that reaches beyond our communities and impacts small town and rural areas.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
For our congregation and congregations in small town and rural areas, that we may recognize and minister to those who suffer from the agricultural crisis and other kinds of economic dislocation in our society.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
For the farmers and people in farm-related businesses who face foreclosure, suffer from depression and feelings of powerlessness, that you will strengthen and support them with your presence.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
For rural and small town communities, especially that they (we) may work together to build a sustainable future.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
For those who farm the land, that they may see their labour as participation in God¹s creative activity in the world.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
For the hungry, that they may not be forgotten as we work for justice for farmers.
Response: Into your hands, Lord, we give our prayers.
(Here add other petitions.)
Into your hands, O Lord, we commit all for whom we pray, believing in your mercy through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
