Praying Together 2021

50 Gather Light a candle as a sign of God’s presence and sit quietly. Ring a bell or chime to start the prayer. The Lord be with you. Alleluia! And with your spirit. Alleluia! COLLECT Let us pray that the Risen Christ will renew our lives. (pause ) God our Father, help us to be more like your son, Jesus, and keep your love alive in our hearts. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. SCRIPTURE A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 22-24 Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd: Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved that he sent Jesus to you by having him work miracles, wonders, and signs. All of you know this. God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. RESPONSE Trusting in God’s love, let us pray for the needs of the world. For those who were baptised at Easte r : (pause) We pray as one. Gracious God, hear our prayer. For those who follow God’s law of love: (pause) We pray as one. Gracious God, hear our prayer. For those who teach others about Jesus: (pause) We pray as one. Gracious God, hear our prayer. For those who work for justice: (pause) We pray as one. Gracious God, hear our prayer. For the prayers in our hearts today: (pause while students offer their prayers aloud) We pray as one. Gracious God, hear our prayer. DISMISSAL May the peace of Christ dwell in our hearts. Alleluia! Alleluia! May God bless us in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Ring the bell or chime to signal the end of the prayer. Extinguish the candle. “God set him free from death and raised him to life.” Wednesday Octave of Easter 7 April 2021