Contact us at:
St. Stephen's Church
St. Stephen's Street
Worcester WR3 7HS
Please note that these are all personal phone numbers.
There is no phone in the church.
Reverend Andy Todd
Priest-in-charge
Tel: 07806892165
Email: revandyt@outlook.com
Reverend Lindsey Coulthard
Assistant Curate
Tel: 07879366294
Email: ljcoulthard@yahoo.co.uk
Michelle Walsh
Parish Administrator
Tel: 07961 097497
Email: mwalsh.ststephens@outlook.com
Daily Prayer
Monday
Lord, open our eyes and ears to see the world that you see
To hear the vices that you hear
To listen to the people who ache for justice
To rage with them
To lament with them
To hope with them
To trust and work with them for a better tomorrow.
Amen.
(adapted from Liz Hughes,
Chair of Christian Aid Ireland)
A Prayer for the people of Ukraine
Bishop John has called on all in our diocese to pray for the people of Ukraine and for peace, and for the leaders of the West as they deliberate on how to respond to the terrible unprovoked aggression of Russia. He has invited people to use this prayer from the Dean for public worship and private intercession:
Lord of all the earth, be present with the people of Ukraine at this time of danger, fear, and conflict. Grant that wise and peaceable counsels may yet prevail, and give to all suffering nations the freedom they desire and deserve. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for Peace
Most holy God and Father,
we pray for all who strive for peace
and all who fight for justice.
Help us, who today remember the cost of war,
to work for a better tomorrow; and,
as we commend to you lives lost in terror and conflict,
bring us all, in the end, to the peace of your
presence; through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(churchofengland.org)
A Prayer in Time of Crisis
A Prayer in Time of Crisis
Jesus, light of the world you promised to be always with us.
Be with our sisters and brothers now, dispelling the darkness of this crisis.
Compel us to be with them too in thought, prayer and solidarity, responding to their suffering with the same compassion you have shown us.
We make this prayer in the firm faith that your light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.
Amen.
(CAFOD.org)
Psalm 121 - Read by Lindsey Coulthard
The Lords Prayer - Read by Lindsey Coulthard
This can also be watched from our Facebook page by following this link:
God’s Bathrobe by Michael Coffey
(As used in Linsdey Coulthard's Reflection - Sunday 30th May)
God sat Sunday in her Adirondack deck chair
reading the New York Times and sipping strawberry lemonade
her pink robe flowing down to the ground
the garment hem was fluff and frill
and it spilled holiness down into the sanctuary
into the cup and the nostrils of the singing people
one thread trickled loveliness into a funeral rite
as the mourners looked in the face of death
and heard the story of a life truer than goodness
a torn piece of the robe’s edge flopped onto
a war in southern Sudan and caused heartbeats
to skip and soldiers looked into themselves deeply
one threadbare strand of the divine belt
almost knocked over a polar bear floating
on a loose berg in the warming sea
one silky string wove its way through Jesus’ cross
and tied itself to desert-parched immigrants with swollen tongues
and a woman with ovarian cancer and two young sons
you won’t believe this, but a single hair-thin fiber
floated onto the yacht of a rich man and he gasped
when he saw everything as it really was
the hem fell to and fro across the universe
filling space and time and gaps between the sub-atomic world
with the effervescent presence of the one who is the is
and even in the slight space between lovers in bed
the holiness flows and wakes up the body
to feel beyond the feeling and know beyond the knowing
and even as we monotheize and trinitize
and speculate and doubt even our doubting
the threads of holiness trickle into our lives
and the seraphim keep singing "holy, holy, holy"
and flapping their wings like baby birds
and God says: give it a rest a while
and God takes another sip of her summertime drink
and smiles at the way you are reading this filament now
and hums: It’s a good day to be God
Prayers for a range of situations we hope are helpful
For medical staff
and all working at the front line
of fighting the outbreak
Gracious God,
give skill, sympathy and resilience
to all who are caring for the sick,
give your wisdom to all those searching for a cure,
And support all who are working
to keep people safe.
Strengthen them with your Spirit,
that through their work many will be restored to health;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
A Prayer for the Outbreak
God of
compassion,
during this Coronavirus
outbreak
be close
to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation;
in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross,
but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
If you know people who are ill
Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms are there to hold them safe.
Especially we hold before you (N…. and N….).
Comfort and heal
them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
If you know people who are ill
Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms are there to hold them safe.
Especially we hold before you (N…. and N….).
Comfort and heal
them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayers for families with children
A version of the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, you are in heaven
and your name is special and wonderful.
May your plans become reality,
and all you desire happen in our world and in yours.
Please give us all we need to get through today.
Forgive us for all we have got wrong,
and help us to do the same for those who hurt us.
Keep us from doing things that are wrong,
and protect us in these hard times.
Everything in heaven and on earth is made by you and belongs to you,
and that’s the way it will be …. Always. Amen
A prayer for the world
God of love and hope,
you made the world and care for all creation,
but the world feels strange right now.
The news is full of stories about Coronavirus.
Some people are worried that they might get ill.
Others are anxious for their family and friends.
Be with them and help them to find peace.
We pray for the doctors and nurses and scientists,
and all who are working to discover the right medicines
to help those who are ill.
Thank you that even in these anxious times,
you are with us.
Help us to put our trust in you and keep us safe.
Amen.
A bedtime prayer
Loving God, you are
always with me.
You are with me in the day and in the night.
You are with me when I’m happy and when I’m sad.
You are with me when I’m healthy and when I am ill.
You are with me when I am peaceful and when I am worried.
Today I am feeling (name how you are feeling) because (reasons you are
feeling this way).
Tonight, I
especially want to ask you to look after (name the people you want God to help).
Help me to remember that you love me and are with me in everything tonight and
always.
Amen.
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