Lord Jesus Christ, you lived under Roman occupation;
we pray for all who live under occupation today.
You had nowhere to lay your head;
we pray for all who have lost their homes through demolition or eviction.
You prayed for your oppressors;
we pray for soldiers and police, for administrators and those in government, that they may dispense justice with mercy.
You preached the gospel of peace and justice;
we pray for Israeli, Palestinian and international peace keepers and peace makers, especially the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.
We pray that all who live in the Holy Land – Israeli and Palestinian, Christian, Jew and Muslim – may learn that it is only through sacrifice that peace will come. Amen.

Elizabeth Burroughs, ecumenical accompanier 2006/08/09

Gentle God
Let us enter softly into the presence of the gentle God, like mist on a breathless day.
The crashing waves of everyday life are muffled,
the flurries and eddies of distraction are washed into stillness.
The gentle God in smiles, light and tenderness holds us close.
Held in your gentle hands, O God, we blossom in the gift of rebirth and new life.
Cherished by our creative and mothering God, love patiently transforms us fault by fault, until we are reformed into the likeness of the holy one.
Spirit of God, send us on our way with your gentle breathing.
The soft curtain of God’s holding is moved to one side and we feel again the pulling of the waves dragging the cares of the world over us.
But remade, reformed, refashioned we smile and give God praise and blessing. Amen

Malcolm Peacock, Isle of Man District Chair