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Prayers and Poems
Matthew and Me Autumn Lovely Things The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory A Sioux prayer Loving Father House Blessing
Matthew and Me (Matthew 9:9-13)
Here I am, As I am, As I have been, Known.
And you see and you call, Understanding all the tangles And the turmoil, Up to speed with all the details,
Still you call Me To wholeness.
Lifted by your word I will obey, I will follow you Along the Kingdom path To another rising. Daphne Kitching
Autumn
Yellow the bracken, Golden the sheaves, Rosy the apples, Crimson the leaves; Mist on the hillside, Clouds grey and white. Autumn, good morning! Summer, good night! Florence Hoatson
Lovely Things
Bread is a lovely thing to eat – God bless the barley and the wheat!
A lovely thing to breathe is air – God bless the sunshine everywhere!
The earth’s a lovely place to know – God bless the folks that come and go!
Alive’s a lovely thing to be – Giver of life – we say – bless Thee! H M Sarson
The Whole Earth Shall Cry Glory
Almighty God, Creator: The morning is yours, rising into fullness. The summer is yours, dipping into autumn. Eternity is yours, dipping into time. The vibrant grasses, the scent of flowers, the lichen on the rocks, the tang of sea-weed, All are yours. Gladly we live in this garden of your creating. George MacLeod 1895 – 1991; founder of the Iona Community
A Sioux prayer
You, O God, are the Lord of the mountains and valleys. You are my mother and my father. You have given rain to make the corn grow, and sunshine to ripen it. Now in your strength the harvest begins.
I offer you the first morsels of the harvest. I know it is almost nothing compared with the abundance of the crop. But since you have provided the harvest, my gift to you is only a sing of what you have given to me.
You alone know how many suns and moons it will take to finish reaping. You alone know how heavy the crop will be. If I work too hard and too fast I forget about you, who gave me the harvest. So I will work steadily and slowly, remembering that each ear of corn is a priceless gift from you.
Loving Father
Most loving Father, may we who seek to dwell in your house be governed wholly by your laws. In adversity and in prosperity, in life and in death, may you reveal to us your gracious will, and then give us strength in body and in heart to obey your commands. We pray that you will make us perfect, because only that which is perfect truly reflects your glory. And through the Holy Spirit you have shown us the way of perfection. A prayer of Erasmus (1469 – 1536), the most renowned scholar of his age
House Blessing Have you ever blessed your house? If not, here is a prayer to help you on your way!
God bless the house from ground to stay, From beam to wall and all the way, From head to post, from ridge to clay, From balk to roof-tree let it lay, From found to top and every day God bless both fore and aft, I pray, Nor from the house God’s blessing stray, From top to toe the blessing go. From Poems of the Western Highlanders
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