Friday 16th July 2021

Meeting details

Morning prayer is hosted by Graham on weekday mornings at 07:30 when it is not a public holiday. If you want to recall a particular day's liturgy you can add the date to the end of the web address (YYYY-MM-DD). Here is a real-world example https://morningprayer.torrix.uk/2020-11-16.

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 886 6182 8034
Passcode: morning

You can join by telephone if you wish:

+44 203 901 7895 (United Kingdom)
Passcode: 5521199

Meeting expectations

This is a short service that you are welcome to invite anyone to. It will last no more than 20 minutes.

There will be opportunities for you to contribute by saying some of the prayers or reading scripture. There is no obligation to participate.

You are welcome to join with your camera off and to keep your microphone muted.

Opening

One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.

Call: Who is it that you seek?
Response: We seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Response: Amen. Christ, have mercy.

Declaration of faith

We believe in God who celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate.

We will allow ourselves to be challenged and will not discriminate against people on grounds of

  • disability or economic power,
  • ethnicity or gender,
  • gender identity or mental health,
  • neurodiversity or sexuality.

We believe in a Church that:

  • welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ;
  • Listens to the scriptures and learns from them;
  • seeks to share the stories of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit;
  • And allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.

Scripture reading

Psalm 35

Psalm 35

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

Of David.
1 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
   and rise up to help me!
3 Draw the spear and javelin
   against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
   ‘I am your salvation.’


4 Let them be put to shame and dishonour
   who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
   who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,
   with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
   with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.


7 For without cause they hid their net* for me;
   without cause they dug a pit* for my life.
8 Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
   let them fall in it—to their ruin.


9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
   exulting in his deliverance.
10 All my bones shall say,
   ‘O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
   from those too strong for them,
   the weak and needy from those who despoil them.’


11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
   they ask me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good;
   my soul is forlorn.
13 But as for me, when they were sick,
   I wore sackcloth;
   I afflicted myself with fasting.
I prayed with head bowed* on my bosom,
14   as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;
I went about as one who laments for a mother,
   bowed down and in mourning.


15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,
   they gathered together against me;
ruffians whom I did not know
   tore at me without ceasing;
16 they impiously mocked more and more,*
   gnashing at me with their teeth.


17 How long, O Lord, will you look on?
   Rescue me from their ravages,
   my life from the lions!
18 Then I will thank you in the great congregation;
   in the mighty throng I will praise you.


19 Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,
   or those who hate me without cause wink the eye.
20 For they do not speak peace,
   but they conceive deceitful words
   against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They open wide their mouths against me;
   they say, ‘Aha, Aha,
   our eyes have seen it.’


22 You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent!
   O Lord, do not be far from me!
23 Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defence,
   for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
   according to your righteousness,
   and do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,
   ‘Aha, we have our heart’s desire.’
Do not let them say, ‘We have swallowed you* up.’


26 Let all those who rejoice at my calamity
   be put to shame and confusion;
let those who exalt themselves against me
   be clothed with shame and dishonour.


27 Let those who desire my vindication
   shout for joy and be glad,
   and say evermore,
‘Great is the Lord,
   who delights in the welfare of his servant.’
28 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
   and of your praise all day long.

NRSV

Prayers for others

Canticle

Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks to me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.


Acknowledgements

Structure, Opening, Canticle and Blessing:
Taken from Morning Prayer from Northumbria Community’s Celtic Daily Prayer published by Collins.
Declaration of Faith
Adapted from http://inclusive-church.org/.
Scriptures
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.