18.06.2021
Click here to meet Patricia, who tells us about her journey of faith and what sustains her.
We pray for Patricia and for all of us in the ebb and flow of doubts and faith in our lives.
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and in rest we shall be saved, and in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: by the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
J. W. Suter, from The SPCK Book of Christian Prayer.
12.06.2021
Welcome to our last Window on the World, for this week of prayer for our church community.
Click here to meet Emily our youth worker who has been working with our children and young people at La Côte and has drawn together some of their thoughts for this window. After watching, please pray for Emily, and for our children and youth programme. Here is a prayer you might like to use:
Heavenly Father, we hold before you Emily and all those who minister to children and young people. We thank you for their leadership and inspiration that they bring to the children and young people of our community and other communities of faith, and for the example they set for those who are seeking their way in the world. We lift up to you the month of July, the summer activities when children and youth will gather for activities and reflection around the theme of “Our World”.
We ask your blessing on Emily as she continues her road of discipleship – May she bravely go where You lead her, drawing strength from Your presence beside her, and in turn showing Your peace and way to those who have the good luck to be travelling with her on the next stretch of her journey.
We pray for the coming months of transition as Emily and Jane Robinson move on, that Your hand will guide us here at La Côte to find a new children and youth leader, praying for discernment and trust.
We lift up to you all children and youth known to us, that they will continue to turn to you in prayer and will find the courage to live like Christ, standing up for injustice and stepping out to support those who have been excluded. Amen
11.06.2021
Welcome to another ‘Windows on the World’ in our week of prayer for our church community.
Click here to meet Alice Debell and Jane Robinson, teachers in the International School of Geneva.
Please enjoy watching the video, afterwards if you feel touched by it, perhaps pray for them and the issues they raise.
A prayer for Jane and Alice and all those in similar situations.
Loving God,
Thank you for Alice and Jane and everything they and their colleagues do to help young people grow and enjoy being “educated for peace”. Their students are of the generation representing the future of our communities and our world.
Thank you for their prayerful approach to work despite being unable to refer overtly to their faith or spiritual lives. Help them manage their ‘closet faith’ just as their Muslim colleague manages to pray in that broom cupboard.
Thank you that they look and find your grace in the small acts of kindness and appreciation sometimes expressed by the children. Help us remember to sustain them in our prayers for the wisdom, strength and inner peace they need to face the demands of a pressured, secular environment.
Thank you for their faith and exemplary love for you.
Amen
10.06.2021
Welcome to today’s Window on the World, in a week of prayer for our church community.
Click here to meet John Haines, United Nations Associated Fellow, working since retirement with the Institute for Training & Research, in the field of chemicals and waste management. After watching, please pray for John and others in a similar situation. Here are two prayers you might like to use:
Loving Father,
We give you thanks for John, his deep, unwavering faith in the face of loneliness and isolation and his sense of responsibility to reach out to others in need. We thank you for his commitment to the French Protestant Reformed Church in Divonne and to La Côte Anglican Church and for acting as a bridge between the two. May he be blessed with the love and care of those around him and his many friends as he looks forward to joyful reunions. May we all be given the grace to give and the grace to receive. Amen.
And from Canterbury Cathedral:
Father of all,
you call us to be generous to one another,
and to recognise in their faces the true image of your Son.
Give us grace as individuals, and as a whole society
that, in this time of great need, we may minister friendship
and support, in ways that are safe,
to all those who are in need of the service of others this day,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
08.06.2021
Welcome to Windows on the World, Day 2: a week of prayer for our community.
Click here to meet VT, in the world of human resources for a local company.
After opening her window, please pray for her as you feel led.
Here is a prayer for Viv and those in similar situations.
Loving God,
Thank you for VT and for her dedication to her work and her family. Thank you for her prayerful approach to her work and her home life. We pray for her and for all those juggling working from home and meeting the demands of domestic life in the same space. We pray especially for those living in cramped conditions, struggling to carve out space to focus on work, with many other distractions.
We pray for renewed strength, refreshment and patience for families under strain. Grant wisdom and calm both for the demands of work and for relationships in the home.
VT reminded us of the Serenity Prayer, so we end this prayer with an adapted version from Dave Tomlinson.
God, grant me the serenity to live fully and generously
through circumstances I cannot control,
hope to keep on imagining better times
for myself and the world,
and courage to change what I can, instead of simply leaving it to others. Amen
07.06.2021
Welcome to Windows on the World, Day 1: a week of prayer for our community.
Click here the prayer to meet JB, in the world of medical research.
After opening his window, please pray for him as you feel led.
Here is a prayer which may help you.
Loving God,
We thank you for JB and for all that he has shared with us.
We thank you for the work he does to deliver anti-malarial drugs and we pray for all involved in scientific research to develop medicines and vaccines. At this time, we pray for all involved in the production of Covid vaccines, that they would be able to produce enough vaccines for everyone. We pray for a fairer distribution of these vaccines across our world. Grant wisdom to scientists to build community, to collaborate well with one another, to do “the right science”, to manage resources shrewdly and honestly and to deliver the medicines to those most in need.
We pray for all those in positions of responsibility in the world of medicine. Give them stamina, hope and courage as they seek to bring healing to those who are sick and vulnerable to disease.
We pray for JB, and others in similar situations as they seek to balance heavy workloads with family life and rest and recreation. We ask your blessing on his children experiencing student life in these Covid times – and we take a moment to think of all the young people we know, asking for God to meet them in their need with love and fresh hope and direction. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people. Amen