“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 & 8 NLT
I love the snippets of history that you find online or in newspapers entitled, “On this day ...”.
I know lots of interesting facts about today because it’s my birthday!
So let’s use these facts to pray
1208 - St Francis Assis received his vocation
We pray for all those discerning a vocation into ministry or going through the Congregational Federation Accreditation process at the moment. We pray there are no doubts but a clear vision and direction.
We pray for all those in ministries within the Congregational Federation, we pray divine protection over them and pray that they continue to be inspired. We pray for our churches in vacancy and that more people will be called into church leadership.
1582 - Pope Gregory XIII introduces new Gregorian calendar
We thank God for time. We pray we may use our time wisely and have a good balance between rest and work. May we not take time for granted and not put off what we can do today.
1923 - Flying Scotsman goes into service
We thank God for travel, for all those who work in the travel industry and do the things in our community that we take for granted like painting and repairing bus stops and planning timetables.
1924 - Gandhi released from prison
We pray all those in prison who are struggling being away from family or who are vulnerable. We pray for all those who work in prisons especially those in chaplaincy, we pray protection and wisdom over them
1981 - Prince Charles and Lady Diana announce their engagement
We pray for our new King and the preparations for his Coronation. We pray for marriages, we pray for a breakthrough for those who are struggling and pray for those who grieve the loss of a partner.
2022 - Russia invaded Ukraine
We pray for peace. We pray the war will finish and rebuilding can start. One year on we pray for all those who have been affected by the situation and a peaceful resolution can be found.
We pray we will all be peacemakers wherever we are.
Amen.
Yvonne Campbell
Please note: To show our continued solidarity with Ukraine, the Government has announced a national moment of silence at 11am on Friday 24 February 2023, so that the UK public can demonstrate their support and reflect on the human cost suffered by Ukraine in their fight for freedom. I hope you can join in and share this information with others, so as many people as possible are able to take part.
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