An order of worship praying for Kenya and Tanzia

Worship in the Ecumenical Centre Monday 11 May 2009
Praying for Kenya and Tanzania in the ecumenical prayer cycle

Musical preparation
We listen to a recording of Baba Yetu
Words of Welcome

Celebrant : Christos anesti!
All: Alithos anesti! (Greek)

Celebrant: Christ is risen!
All: Christ is risen indeed! (English)

Celebrant: Christ est ressuscité!
All : Christ est vraiment ressuscité! (French)

Celebrant: Christus ist auferstanden!
All: Christus ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! (German)

Celebrant : Cristo ha resucitado!
All: En verdad ha resucitado! (Spanish)

Celebrant :Yesu Amefufuka !
All: Amefufuka hakika! (Swahili)

Celebrant: Al-Masih qam!
All: Haqqan qam! (Arabic)

Song ~ Agape 98 ~ Utukufu in kiSwahili, English and then again in kiSwahili

Psalm 98
O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.
His right hand and his holy arm have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Song ~ Agape 10 ~ Bwana awabariki in Swahili, English, German

Prayer
God of Love, God of compassion, in the midst of death and evil you mercifully look after us: protecting, providing and smiling, constantly reassuring us of your care. Grant that we may know that your love is life. Teach us to number our days aright that we may acquire a heart of wisdom, through Jesus Christ whose life has become our light.
Amen

Please stand for the gospel reading and to sing:
Hale, Hale Hale lu-ja Hale, Hale Hale lu-ja Hale, Hale Hale lu-ja, Haleluja Haleluja!

John 15.9-17
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Sing Hale, Hale Hale lu-ja Hale, Hale Hale lu-ja Hale, Hale Hale lu-ja, Haleluja Haleluja!

Meditation by Rogate Mshana

Prayers - our prayers of intercession today are based on the Lord's prayer.
We remember especially the people and churches in Kenya and Tanzania this week, praying for all who work for the good of civil society and peace with justice in these countries.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Beloved God, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all the peoples of the earth,
bring peace and righteousness to all the peoples. In your grace, may equity grow. Turn our hearts to you in healing and transformation.

hallowed be thy name.
Be present to all peoples,
that we may open our eyes and recognize you
in our history, in our cultures, in our struggles.
Deliver us from enchantment by the false goods of money, markets and status. Help us to praise you in our faith and actions,
that, seeing our loving service in your name,
others, too, may bless that name

Thy kingdom come;
Where people resist injustice,
live in solidarity,
and seek a more human social order,
help us to recognize the ferment of your kingdom already at work. Bless those who are poor, those who suffer for the sake of justice,
Those who promote and defend human rights.
Bless the children of our countries,
and protect them from terror and oppression.

Thy will be done,
Yes! That your wisdom would be our wisdom!
Deliver us from adjusting to unjust systems,
Move our hearts, and the hearts of women and men everywhere to act in love,
that we may resist the seductions of power and greed and may live in right relationship with all.

on earth as it is in heaven.
God, present in every movement of creation,
let us be responsible stewards of your garden of life.
striving for sustainability.
And as the firmament in all its mystery and glory
displays your cosmic will,
so may our lives display the mystery and glory of love,
your will for life on earth.

Give us this day our daily bread,
That no one may be threatened by hunger, malnutrition, scarcity, give bread to those who have none,
and hunger for justice to those who have bread.
Teach us what is enough for today,
and to share with those who have less than enough, for in this, it is Jesus whom we serve.

and forgive us our debts
Don't let us lose our lives,
as persons and as peoples,
because of our debts.
Let not the poorest pay for the benefit of the richest,
in unfair demands, punitive interest rates and excessive charges. But forgive us, and let justice prevail.

as we forgive our debtors.
As we live by your grace and sharing of your very self,
deliver us from systems of aggressive and divisive individualism.
Break our chains of selfishness, open our hearts to those who need our solidarity,
and deliver us from illusion,
that we might practise what we preach.

And lead us not into temptation,
Deliver us from being bewitched by power,
and keep us faithful to you;
for you are our help, where else can we appeal.
Money will not save us, nor the market, nor our powerful friends. Strengthen us to resist the false attraction of easy answers, magic fixes,
abuses of power,
and the delusion that there is any way apart from justice in which God's justice can be done.

but deliver us from evil.
From every evil that objectifies the earth, all living beings, and our neighbours; from every evil that degrades creation and destroys societies
from every evil that encourages us to think that we are God.
So may we learn from you to refrain from judgment,
to accord respect to all God's creation, and so be privileged to hear the witness of those the world treats with indignity.

Because yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

The Lord's Prayer sung in French

Blessing