This coming Tuesday, October 16, is World Food Day. It is a day when we celebrate the incredible abundance of God’s creation. It is also a day that calls us to prayer … a prayer that we might be part of a more equitable sharing of God’s abundance towards God’s realm of peace and justice. I love this image and pray it might become an image of my life, and our lives as Christians, reaching out in love, serving others. (See a prayer at the bottom of this page.)
This Sunday we will reflect upon the spiritual discipline (and delight) of giving. Our focus will be upon a paragraph from Paul’s second letter to the Christians of Corinth, in which he combines over and over ‘grace’ with ‘giving’ – giving is a response to the grace we have received, but in giving we also grow in grace.
If you are in the area, we would warmly welcome you to join us in Christian worship. Have a look at the Order of Service below, and consider each of the announcements a personal invitation to grow with us in Christian faith, community and service.
A Prayer for World Food Day
God of honey and harvest,
of grain and grape
of ocean and orchard:
This harvest time may we both praise and pray;
praise you for the abundance
and pray that this harvest is not just shared,
but shared justly.
God of beehives and breadbaskets
of living webs and the weaving of life
of ecosystems and economy:
This harvest time may we both praise and pray
praise you for the wealth of the harvest
and pray that this harvest is not just a promise
but is full of promise for all.
God of bumble bees and blue whales,
evolution and environment,
ice-field and star-field:
This harvest time may we both praise and pray:
praise you for the sheer wonder of the world
and pray that this harvest is not about our wealth
but the wealth of our generosity
(Prayer of Commitment written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws. http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/)