It’s Eastertide! Fresh new Resurrection streams are flowing to irrigate the seed-beds of our souls. The somber night-time of Lent is finished and so is the journey we enjoyed together as priest and parish. Now we await new season’s growth and the fruit it will bring.
I have a prayer for Night Prayer from Sri Lanka stuck in my Book of Alternative Services which, with some small modifications, could be helpful for people like us at a time like this.
Lord, it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
While I don’t believe we’re all about to go into some sort of night-time in our transition to new pastoral leadership, many of us are grieving and are nervous about the changes we face. It feels a little dark and scary some days. Rather than getting all frantic and rushing about, let’s do our best to be still, know that God is God, and that He is present with us in Jesus.
It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.
This change has come after a lovely, long, stable time. We’ve enjoyed fifteen years together in which there have been joys and sorrows, satisfaction and disappointment. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.
The night is dark.Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
Change and uncertainly can look dark from this end. Let’s allow our fears to rest in the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ. If things seem quiet for a season, let’s enjoy it as we let the summertime peace of God enfold us.
The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.
What a great time we’ve had together! The good times are not over, they’re just changing. There’s a new day coming!
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