25 April 2021

Sunday intercessions on
25 April 2021, Easter IV

The Good Shepherd window in All Saints’ Church, Mullingar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Let us pray:

‘I am the Good Shepherd … I have received this command from my Father’ (John 10: 11, 18):

Heavenly Father,
we pray for the nations of the world,
and for our own country Ireland, north and south.

We give thanks for all who are involved in responding to the present pandemic crisis …
for all in vaccination centres, in health centres and in medical practices …
for all volunteers, medical professionals and administrators …
for all who make decisions and seek to influence public opinion for the good …
for all who behave like shepherds of the people, holding out hope and promise for our future …

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

‘Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action’ (I John 3: 18):

Lord Jesus Christ,
we pray for the Church,
that we may always set the Good Shepherd before us
as the pattern of our calling,
caring for one another.

We pray for our bishop Kenneth, our neighbouring churches and parishes
and people of faith everywhere,
that we may be blessed in their variety and diversity.

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for the Nippon Sei Ko Kai,
the Anglican Church of Japan,
and the Primate, Bishop Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu,
Bishop of Hokkaido.

In the Church of Ireland this month,
we pray for the Diocese of Down and Dromore
and Bishop David McClay.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer this week,
we pray for members of Select Vestries throughout the diocese,
and those preparing for Confirmation.

We pray for our own parishes and people,
and we pray for ourselves …

Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

‘The stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone’ (Acts 4: 11):

Holy Spirit,
we pray for one another …
we pray for those we love and those who love us …
we pray for family, friends and neighbours …
and we pray for those we promised to pray for …

We pray for those who feel rejected and discouraged …
we pray for all in need and those who seek healing …
for all who work for healing …
for all waiting for healing …
for all being vaccinated and those administering vaccinations …

We pray for those who are sick or isolated,
at home or in hospital …

Ann … Valerie … Daphne … Sylvia … Ajay …
Joey … Ena … George … Louise …

We pray for those we have offered to pray for …
and we pray for those who pray for us …

We pray for all who grieve and mourn at this time …
for Ruby and the Shorten family …
for Jimmy, Cian, Fiachra and Saedhbh …
Joey, Kenneth, Victor, and their families …
Louie, Trevor, David, and their families …

We remember and give thanks for those who have died …
especially for Walter Long … Ernest Gardiner … Una Kerr …
Val Tomkins … Linda Smyth … Nora Hawkes …
the Rev John Anderson, priest in the Diocese of Connor
and rector of Billy and Derrykeighan for almost 16 years,
and who died suddenly from Covid–19 on Saturday 17 April …
and for those whose anniversaries are at this time …

May their memories be a blessing to us …

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

A prayer from the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) on the Fourth Sunday of Easter:

Almighty Lord,
As Jesus laid down his life for us,
May we devote our lives to you.
Let us rejoice in the promise of new life.

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Bishop Joseph Sakunoshin Motoda (1862-1928), the first Japanese-born Bishop of Tokyo, in a window in the chapel at the USPG offices … the Nippon Sei Ko Kai is named in our intercessions this morning (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

These intercessions were prepared for use in the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sunday 25 April 2021

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