SPCK - Church Occasions

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Church Occasions

Baptism

Lord, we stand awed
in the presence of your evangelist:
this tiny baby who dares
to be your child!

Not one word can she speak,
this your little messenger;
yet in the silence she declares
the living Word!

She has no prior faith
and brings no creed or prayer,
but from this font she bears
the faith of Christ!

She offers now no promises
Nor deeds of righteousness,
But here receives and shares
The righteousness of God!

Helpless, she comes today,
carried in the arms of others,
yet in the helplessness she wears
your massive strength!

Lord, this is the greatest thing:
here a child has Brother, Friend,
and a Father who cares
world without end!

Bruce D Prewer, Australia. Prayers Encircling the World.

First Bible

Lord God,
you reveal yourself in each generation
through word and sacrament,
visions and songs,
timeless knowledge and new discoveries.
Open to us the pages of your truth,
revealing treasures not yet understood
and wisdom forgotten.
Challenge us with the call of your justice,
the breadth of your love
and the mystery of your will.
Ignite in our hearts a flame
to delight in your liberating truth;
through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh among us. Amen.

Ian Black, Prayers for all Occasions.

Adult baptism

One unforgettable day, dear God
You reached down to where I was
And lifted me up to where you are
And we have been inseparable
From that moment to this.

Ruth Harms Calkin, Pakistan. Prayers encircling the world.

"I have called you by name;
you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you."

Isaiah 43:1-2

Confirmation

God of many names,
my name is known to you.
I am held in the hand of your life,
and I do not know what you will make of me.
All I know is that I cannot make myself
any more than I could in my mother's womb.
But this I can do,
this I choose,
to give myself into the hand of your continuing creativity.
My past, with its joys and tiumphs, its failures and regrets.
Ny present, with its struggles and accomplishments,
its failures and regrets.
My future, with its fears and freedom, its pain and promise.
To loose and to bind, to stretch and to shape,
to become what I will,
trusting the hand that made the world
trusting the spirit that breathes life
trusting the love that will not let me go
trusting the promise of the Word made flesh.

Kathy Galloway, Scotland. Prayers Encircling the World.

May the blessing of God
confirm and strengthen you
as you grow in faith.
May the Lord defend and affirm you
in your commitment to him,
and, through the gift of his Spirit,
carry you close to his heart,
all the rest of your days

First Communion

What a long road has been travelled
since the day the risen Christ
revealed himself
to the disciples from Emmaus!

Yet it is the same road
we walk again today:
Christ is still speaking,
still celebrating the Eucharist.

May his words
and the breaking of the bread,
shared down through the centuries,
renew in us
the fidelity of love
amid the drab realities of life!

Pierre Talec, France. Prayers Encircling the World.