Let us pray to the Lord, who has conquered death.

Neither death nor life can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus, bread from heaven, you satisfy the hunger with good things; grant us a share with all the faithful departed in the banquet of your kingdom.

Hear us, risen Lord ….. our resurrection and our life.

Jesus, the light of the world, you gave the man born blind the gift of sight: you opened the eye of faith and bring us from darkness to your eternal light and glory.

Hear us, risen Lord ….. our resurrection and our life.

Jesus, Son of the living God, you summoned your friend Lazarus from death to life: raise us at the last to full and eternal life with you.

Hear us, risen Lord ….. our resurrection and our life.

Jesus, crucified Saviour, in your dying you entrusted each to the other, Mary your mother and John your beloved disciple; sustain and comfort all who morn.

Hear us, risen Lord ….. our resurrection and our life.

Jesus, our way and truth and life, you drew your disciple Thomas from doubt to faith: reveal the resurrection faith to the doubting and the lost.

Hear us, risen Lord ….. our resurrection and our life.

May God in his infinite love and mercy bring the whole Church, living and departed in the Lord Jesus, to a joyful resurrection and the fulfilment of his eternal kingdom.

Hear us, risen Lord ….. our resurrection and our life.

AMEN.

Almighty and merciful God, may we see and understand that humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving one another.

Today, 10 years ago, we look back at the events unfolding, minute by minute on our television screens, as 2 planes were flown into the twin towers in New York, with sheer horror and total disbelief. We pray for the families and friends, of those who died there. Many of the victims were never found, making it even more difficult for those grieving, as to how to deal with it all.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Today is racial justice Sunday. We pray that minds and purposes be united. We pray for harmony with kinsfolk and harmony with strangers. Change is at the heart of our Christian faith. Saint Paul said that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, and we are called to live as children in the light. We pray for Christian Unity and that we may be sustained by our faith. Change is also at the heart of the ecumenical movement. When we pray for the unity of the church we are praying that the churches that we know and which are so familiar to us will change as they conform more closely to Christ. This is an exciting vision, but also a challenging one. When we pray for this transforming unity we are also praying for change in the world.

We pray for Dianne Skerritt, the church’s diversity officer. We pray for the Rt Revd Dr James Deng, of Sittwe in Myanmar.

In our prayers, we remember our Bishop, Bishop Tony. We pray for the Mansfield Deanery. We especially hold before you, the parishes of St Lawrence and our own, during this time of interregnum. We are very truly grateful for the wonderful support of our church wardens, readers and priests. Today we warmly welcome and give thanks for our celebrant today, Geoff Maltby. As Val says, ‘He’s such a good lad!’

Lord hear us, Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for a pragmatic approach, to the transition of power in Libya and that in the coming days and months, a workable resolution evolves, to benefit all, regardless of religion, political persuasion or tribe.

We pray that that Israel with continue to stick to its peace treaty with Egypt, despite the attack on its embassy in Cairo. God bless Africa.

We pray for the souls of at least 187 people have died after an overloaded ferry sank off the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. We give thanks for the 620 survivors that have been rescued.

We pray for the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. So much has been achieved and yet so much remains to be done. In particular, we pray for the safety of Fr Nigel Beardsley and Corporal Mark Longdon, both in Afghanistan.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Dear God, we hold before you all those who are ill and named in our prayer list. Hold them in your healing hands.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord we are inspired and encouraged. There is so much enthusiasm and dedicated hard work for the development of fellowship and taking You out into the community of our parish. There is the exciting and soon to begin celebration of children, adults and families. There is laudable raising of funds for Framework, Operation Christmas Child, for example. Thoroughly enjoyable events such as the Harvest Supper and Beetle Drive are arranged. The wonderful concerts that warmly welcome and introduce more people to St Mark. The church gardens are lovingly tended. The almost weekly Car Boot sales. Much is now being done to involve the youth on a regular basis, making St. Mark’s church a place of loving and fun worship. All this to, your glory and honour. May we remain ever mindful, that You are the centre of all do.

Lord hear us, Lord graciously hear us.

Guide us, O Christ, in all the modern perplexities of our modern social life and in your own good time bring us together in love and unity, making the kingdoms of the world, Your Kingdom as you would wish.

Merciful father, accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

In faith in the promise that Jesus made, that when we gathered together to pray, he would be with us, we bring before you Lord our thanks, praise, fears and hopes. We bring before you Lord all those who pray in faith with us this day. We pray for our bishops, clergy, readers and all those who work within this diocese to bring the Good News and the sacraments to all. We especially remember today all the retired clergy, and the Chaplain to the retired clergy, David Edinborough, also our fellow worshippers in Mombasa, Kenya, with The Rt Rev. Julius Kalu. We especially pray for our celebrant this morning, Fr Paul Bentley, and for Fr Michael Dobbs, who will be here to inter the ashes of Ken Roughton after this Eucharist. We ask you to support Brenda and the rest of Ken’s family and friends on this difficult day. Keep them safe in your heart Lord as they come to terms with their loss, and begin to understand the joy Ken has in being with you in the next life. We commend to your care all those who worship this day while struggling with the aftermath of disaster, the people of Japan, the people of Australia, the people of Mexico still four years after their earthquake and still living in temporary housing, and those thousands still suffering in the wake of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and all those displaced, distressed, made homeless or mourning in the wake of these natural events. Guide us in our efforts to bring relief and show our care to all those who suffer in this way.

Lord hear us . . . .

Some of our own people are sick at this time Lord, we bring them and their families to you for peace and healing if that be your will. We especially remember all those mentioned in our our Mark Mag and pew leaflet, those known to us personally and those known only to you Oh Lord. We bring to you the souls of those who have passed through the gates of death to come into your eternal glory. We remember those whose years mind has occured this week Sadie Wood, Roseanne Evans, Francis Ernest Tawn and Mabel Almond. We bring into your loving care all those who have long term illness, those who are living in care or nursing homes, and those who are being looked after at home by their families. Give strength and love to these families, and help them to have the care and help that they need.

Lord hear us . . . .

Dear Lord, you know that there are many parts of the world at the moment where there is much unrest, where people are demanding their freedom and their rights, & release from oppression. There are other parts of the world in which wars persist, people are dying every day, many of them children, in wars which have been smoldering on for years, some of those children will never know peace as they will be killed in uniform, the remainder have had their emotions and spirits hardened and damaged by the things they have seen and done. There are may so called diplomatic incidents which are hardly reported, where information is hard to come by, but in which people, the children of you oh God, die daily. We ask Lord that the leaders & politicians, whomsoever has the power in these places come to see that the way to get what is right is not by killing and maiming, but by open dialogue and negotiation.

There has been a huge effort this week to raise money for all sorts of good causes, in Red Nose Day. An amazing 74 million pounds was raised by the good people of this country, mostly to aid children, here and in many other countries, who are suffering in ways that should be intolerable in this day and age. Why is it that children still die from lack of clean water, and of malaria, when the provision of one and the eradication of the other is so cheap and easy? Could it be because of the devils favourite weapon - apathy? Guide us Lord that what we want, is for all your people to live with the basic decencies of life, clean water, sufficient food and protection from disease – if every single one of us decided that lack of such things as these was not tolerable in these days it could be changed – all that is needed for evil to flourish is that the good people do nothing said Edmund Burke, please Lord help us all not to be the ones who do nothing. Doing something can be embarrassing, making a fuss gets you noticed and not necessarily in a good way, talking about what you believe makes people uncomfortable – were you always comfortable to be with oh Lord when you lived among us as a human man? Help us to be uncomfortable and annoying to be with in a way that promotes your will for your beloved people.

Lord hear us . . . .

Dear creator Lord, it is, in this part of your wondrous creation, time to see Spring beginning again. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing (especially at 4 a.m.), buds are fattening, sunshine is seen from time to time. We thank you Lord that we are here to see these things, we bless and praise you for the beauty of your world, for the cycle of nature & seasons that continues no matter how foolish and careless your children are. We were given this world to be our home, for us to care for it, treasure it, respect it, live with its changes, not to destroy and damage it. Teach us to care for the single little blue planet that you gave us, help us to learn how to care for it well, one world is enough for us if we do not rip everything out from it while putting nothing back. Let us stop and listen to the blackbird sing, watch buds open to leaves & flowers, see crops grow in the fields and witness all these things with joy and thankfulness. We have so much for which to be thankful, please help us all to remember this as we rush through our busy lives, forgetting who made it all possible – remind us to stoop down and be amazed at the perfume of a daffodil, the spots on a ladybird and the pattern of bark on a tree – and then to give thanks to you for all of it.

Lord hear us . . . .

Father accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Spirit of God,
You are the breath of creation,
the wind of change that blows through our lives,
opening us to new dreams and new hopes,
new life in Jesus Christ.

We pray for the witness of the Church this week, particularly in places where our Christian faith is not tolerated. We pray in particular for the Coptic Christian community in Alexandria, in Egypt. We pray for understanding and tolerance for the value of differences, in religion and culture. We pray for PEACE!

We pray for Sudan, as they start a week-long period of voting to decide on dividing their country and creating a new and peaceful one.

God bless Africa!

We pray too for all those affected in the widespread floods in Queensland, Australia. We pray for people and organisations who will be instrumental in bringing relief, aid, medical attention and providing safe, clean and dry accommodation.

It is plough Sunday today. - We pray for those in and concerned for agriculture. For Derek Hollis, the Bishop’s advisor on rural affairs. We pray for a common sense, sustainable and humane approach to farming methods and practices. We pray for Leicester, Canterbury for the right Rev’d Timothy Stevens. In our prayers we remember our own Bishop, the right Rev’d Paul Butler. We pray for the Mansfield deanery. We say a special prayer for our own parish and that of St Lawrence, as we are about to advertise the vacancy of parish priest. We thank you for the continued support from our church wardens and priests, who take care of us during this time of interregnum.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer

We pray O lord, for all those people for whom life has no obvious pattern, no routine, possibly no challenge. We think particularly of the unemployed, the homeless and vulnerable and any known to us personally. Give wisdom and imagination to all who plan new patterns of work and leisure for our society, that no-one may feel useless, unproductive or unfulfilled.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer

Guide us that we may be more aware of and sensitive to our neighbour’s needs:

The need of the old to know they are wanted and appreciated,
The need of the young to know they are listened to,
The need of people to know that are valued

Lord keep us aware.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer

We pray for those known to us who have passed away. We give thanks for their lives.

Lord we hold before you all those who are ill and all those named in our prayer list.

Help them in their helplessness
Help them in the vulnerability
Help them to trust you.

Lord hear us, Lord graciously hear us.

Lord we give thanks to those who take on the important and rewarding challenge of Christian teaching to our young people. May they prosper in the knowledge of your eternal love, may they feel totally safe in your all encompassing power, may they shine a light of generosity of spirit, of gentle strength and humble thoughtfulness.

Lord we give thanks for the unconditional giving of talents, time and effort by members of St Mark, enabling this parish to serve the community. Help us to grow and strengthen our fellowship with each other and our bonds within the community.

Lord hear us, Lord graciously hear us.

Beloved Son of God,
Baptised by John, we praise you
And marvel at your humility.
You are one with us in baptism:
Take us with you into the Kingdom.
You are one with us in humanity:
Lead us into the love of the Father, to whom be thanksgiving
now and always.

Lord in your mercy hear our prayer

When the song of angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and princes are home
When the shepherds are back with their flocks
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among the people
To make music in the heart.

Merciful father accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.