Litirgy for Monday 21 April - Ecumenical prayer cycle Somalia and Djibouti

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre
Monday April 21 2008
Praying through the ecumenical prayer cycle for the people of Somalia and Djibouti

Music Enter Into Jerusalem

Welcome

Christos anesti!
Alithos anesti!

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Cristo ha resucitado!
!En verdad ha resucitado!

Le Christ est ressuscité!
Il est vraiment ressuscité!

Christus ist erstanden!
Er ist wahrhaftig erstanden!

Christos anesti!
Alithos anesti!

Song: Roll Away the Stone
They have been saying all our plans are empty.
They have been saying “Where is their God now?”
REFRAIN – Roll away the stone, see the Glory of God. Roll away the stone.

They have been saying no one will remember.
They have been saying power rules the world. REF

They have been saying no one hears the singing.
They have been saying all our strength is gone. REF

They have been saying “All of us are dying”.
They have been saying “All of us are dead”. REF

Prayer
When we are all despairing
When the world is full of grief
When we see no way ahead
And hope has gone away:
Roll back the stone.
Although we fear change;
Although we are not ready;
Although we would rather weep
And run away:
Roll back the stone.
Because we hope where hope is vain;
Because you call us from the grave
And show the way:
Roll back the stone.

Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, we give you thanks.
Because you are resurrected from the dead,
we can also be raised from our mortal lives
with you, the giver of eternal life.
ask you to appear before us,
As you appeared to your disciples.
Breathe on us your Holy Spirit,
So we can go out
And be your witnesses
With peace love and happiness.
In your name we pray. Amen

Sing Alleluia

(Translation : We are ambassadors of God, all ambassadors of Jesus
Thanks to our God we are all Ambassadors.....we are all ambassadors of Jesus
Alleluia we are all Ambassadors…we are all ambassadors of Jesus)

Gospel Reading John 14. 1-12 ~ read in Arabic
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Sing: Alleluia

Meditation ~

Prayers of intercession ~ with the peoples of Djibouti and Somalia
O God Eternal, good beyond all that is good,
Fair beyond all that is fair, in whom is calmness and peace: reconcile the differences which divide us from one another and bring us back to the unity of love which may bear some likeness to your divine nature. Grant that we may be spiritually one, both within ourselves and with one another, through the grace mercy and tenderness of your son, Jesus Christ.

Sing Agape 110:
Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God, you who are glorious and truly bounteous,
we pray to you for the countries and peoples of Djibouti and Somalia.
Even where drought and famine reign,
may sustenance be given to those suffering from malnutrition and facing starvation.
Even when rivers run dry and rain doesn’t fall,
we pray that all may have access to clean drinking water;

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God, your Son also once had “nowhere to lay his head”,
we pray to you for the hundreds of thousands of Somalian refugees throughout the world,
and for the refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia who have fled to Djibouti;
we pray that they may find shelter, protection and people willing to welcome them and offer practical support.
As we remember them,
we also pray for all refugees and displaced peoples in our world today.

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

O God of peace,
we pray for peace in Somalia;
that clan leaders and warlords may repent of the devastation they have caused
and seek the way of peace and justice for the whole country.
With heavy hearts we pray
for peace in our time and in the times to come;
that throughout our world swords may be beaten into ploughshares.

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

God of resurrection and promise
we pray for the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world;
may it always exercise its power with integrity,
bear witness to your kingdom and seek the unity Christ prayed for.
And we pray also for ourselves, for our work here and elsewhere,
for our families, friends and loved ones, for those we find it hard to love.
Teach us also to beat our swords into ploughshares.

Sing: Yarrabba ssalami amter alay na ssalam
Yarrabba ssalami imla’qulubana na ssalam.

The Lord’s Prayer ~ said by each in their own language

O Creator and Mighty God
You have promised
Strength for the weak, Rest for the labourers, Light for the way,
Grace for the trials, Help from above, Unfailing sympathy, Undying love.
O Creator and Mighty God help us to continue in your promise.
Amen

Blessing en français

Sing Agape 77:
Reamo leboga
Modimo wa rona

We give our thanks to God
We give our thanks to God

Wir danken unserm Gott
Der Dank gilt unserm Gott

Merci à toi Seigneur
Nous te rendons grâce