The Scottish Episcopal Church and other denominations join together in prayer on Sunday at 7pm, as they have done throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Many of those joining together in prayer, which appears below, will also light candles. Please note that this week there will be no Gaelic translation of the prayer.
In a joint message, church leaders in Scotland said:
Where do we find ourselves today? Does the light of the day still shine and does the way ahead seem clear and certain? Or; does darkness fall and the way ahead seem uncertain and hidden in the shadows? In whatever situation we find ourselves, the Psalms speak to us and the Psalms speak for us. They speak to us and for us in every situation of life.
Perhaps there is nowhere that this is more evident than in the 23rd Psalm. The resonance of the ancient, yet immediately present, words of the Psalmist can be sensed, such that even now we can hear those words speaking into the depths of who we are: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd…Even though I walk through the darkest valley…Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me’. (Psalm 23) To read and to hear the words evokes a response in the very depths of our being. We are addressed by God and the Psalm offers to us words of response: ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley…I fear no evil’. ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord’. Wherever we find ourselves today, the Lord speaks to us and graciously offers us words of response.
We pray:
Gracious Lord
And faithful Shepherd,
Lead us to the place of your presence
And speak to us your word that brings life.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord
And faithful Shepherd,
Lead us to the place of still waters
And restore our troubled souls.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord
And faithful Shepherd,
Lead us on the paths of righteousness
And deliver us from evil.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord
And faithful Shepherd,
Lead us through the valley of shadows
And bring us to the place of safety.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord
And faithful Shepherd,
Lead us to the place where the table is renewed
And the cup overflows for all.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord
And faithful Shepherd,
Lead us to the place where goodness and mercy abide
And to the house of the Lord forever.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Signed by:
Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
Rev. Dr David Miller, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
Rev. Neil MacMillan, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland
Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rev. Ruth Turner, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)
