What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • A Preface for Ash Wednesday

    The following preface was written to mark the beginning of Lent and reflects the language and character of the Lenten material in the Scottish Liturgy 1982 and Daily Prayer of the Scottish Episcopal Church

    Dear Friends in Christ, it is the custom of Christian people to prepare to mark the time of Christ’s passion and resurrection by a season of penitence and fasting.

    The church calls each of us during these forty days to repent of all that causes harm to ourselves, harm to our earthly dwelling place and harm to our relationship with God.

    By carefully keeping these days, Christians take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and so grow in faith and devotion. In turning our hearts towards God, we discover anew the boundless grace of God.

    For God will help us to create beauty even within the turmoil of this chaotic world and will help us to gather a harvest of joy and gladness from lives of sorrow and care. Today and every day, God calls the wandering exile home.

    We are invited therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.

4 responses to “How shall we pray for our elected representatives?”

  1. Meg Rosenfeld Avatar
    Meg Rosenfeld

    I’m reminded of a remark which Senator Dianne Feinstein (D- California–which happens to be my home state and political party) made regarding our current President, to the effect that it would be better if we could help him to be a good president than if we merely got rid of him. Oh, my, did that ever provoke angry outpourings! At the time, I was attending a parish retreat, so it seemed appropriate to mention during a group discussion that this nice elderly Jewish lady was actually quoting Scripture and saying that “God desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live.” This didn’t go over very well, but there you are. God bless our elected politicians, indeed.

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  2. Gordon Avatar
    Gordon

    Amen. We don’t usually pray for the Queen, but we often pray for politicians and leaders. Good challenge about MEPs and those who make international government – EU, Council of Europe, UN etc – work.

    Reply
  3. Kathleen Jowitt Avatar
    Kathleen Jowitt

    Amen. I’m wondering whether this point works in reverse, as well: “If collectively, as a people, we had been more thankful for the EU, would we have prayed more for its welfare?”

    If, collectively, as a people, we had prayed more for the welfare of the EU, would we have been more thankful for it? Might we have felt more like a part of it? It’s difficult to know the answer to either formulation.

    Reply
  4. Rob Avatar
    Rob

    this Sunday I was the lay intercessor at morning Eucharist at our church. In preparing the prayers, I looked at the last ones I had done, in Mid November, and used this one virtually unchanged as it seemed as relevant now as then.

    “In our country, political leaders are struggling to agree terms for our exit from the European Union. Our politics seem ever more polarised and confrontational, and it seems that any possible outcome could cause further strife and division.

    Almighty Father, we pray for all who have important decisions to make, and especially for our own country at this time.

    Guide the decisions of those who govern so that they may strive for justice, freedom, peace and the common good.

    Give those of us who are governed wisdom, love and courage, and the resilience to find ways to grow and flourish, whatever the future may bring.

    Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

    Reply

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