EDINBURGH NORTHWEST KIRK
NOVEMBER PRAYER DIARY
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8 :12)
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Prayers for each day
3 Nov Pray for our services at Cramond and Pennywell
4 Nov for Julia and family
5 Nov for Emma McMillan who has just started a placement with St Ninians Corstorphine. Emma is studying at New College.
6 Nov for the work of Christian Aid in Gaza
7 Nov for the CrossReach ministry of Cunningham House, Edinburgh. Cunningham House offers supported hostel accommodation for men and women experiencing homelessness.
8 Nov for all the activities taking place in our church halls
9 Nov for wise use of the funds raised in the annual Poppy Appeal
10 Nov Remembrance Sunday
11 Nov for Chaplains working with the armed forces
12 Nov for all those in our community struggling with health issues
13 Nov for the King, Queen and the royal family
14 Nov for the Moderator
15 Nov for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet
16 Nov for those recently bereaved
17 Nov Pray for our services at Cramond and Pennywell
18 Nov for Julia and family
19 Nov for the many Ukrainians still with us in Scotland
20 Nov for the First Minister and Cabinet
21 Nov for the Elders of the Kirk
22 Nov for David Haggarty and his team
23 Nov for Julia and her family
24 Nov Pray for our services at Cramond and Pennywell
25 Nov for the Session meeting tonight
26 Nov for all those seeking to bring peace to the Middle East
27 Nov the ministry of our local hospices
28 Nov for Louise in the Kirk Office
29 Nov for Edinburgh Street Pastors
30 Nov for the encouragement of the Holy Spirit in our churches
REFLECTION
Martyn Percy
former Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
When we encounter Jesus in the gospels, we often find him eating or dining with the wrong kind of people. Dining with the right people was normal, and ancient symposiums were often occasions around food, conversations and interactions that required people to pass things to one another, to share and enjoy company in the midst of debate. That is why I think we have something going on with Jesus eating in the homes of other people. It is what one theologian (Johan Baptist Metz) has called “the dangerous memory” of Jesus. When we gather as a body, we break bread, we share wine, we remember conversations, instructions and teaching – and all gathered around food. We are called to share our common life with other people...
Love is not just a single-minded concern. It is never (just) about friendship, marriage or filial obligation. It is about bestowing love on others. Somehow in the mystery of all of this we are mandated to love one another, even those who do not love us.
For this reason, Paul says, “bear with one another; forgive one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also do the same” (Colossians 3:13). (Likewise, Paul’s invocation in Ephesians 4:32 is to be kind and generous to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God and Christ have forgiven you).
Love is a work of patience, and to practise patience is to suffer the flow of time and space, recognising our inability to rush redemption. Church is a work of patience too. The only thing to do is work ceaselessly, putting love into practice and action in the most concrete ways possible, whilst simultaneously leaving the outcome of that entirely in the hands of God. We simply cannot make love do its work. It must be done for its own sake, and maybe then its fruits will flourish. The Gospel of John tells us that God chose to abide with us; to dwell with us and make his home amongst us in the person of Jesus. God chose to be at home with us in Jesus, so that we might be at home with God for eternity. Our hope and prayer for our churches, and our vision for being the Rainbow Church that Desmond Tutu spoke of, is that our places of worship will be a foretaste of the heavenly home to which God invites all. There is no place like God’s home. All are welcome, and our churches must only issue the invitations. So come, let us Tutufy our churches.
(https://modernchurch.org.uk/martyn-percy-embrace-the-tutufication-ofthe-church-of-england-finale)
If you have a prayer request or a favourite prayer which you would care to share in a future Prayer Diary, please e-mail office@cramondkirk.org.uk