The 2010 FIFA World Cup begins today. The Church of England has composed three prayers for the World Cup: two for the teams, the hosts and the fans - and one for those not interested. The prayers ask for blessings on all those involved, for generous sportsmanship and for the competition to be a source of celebration.

The prayer for those just not interested:

Lord, as all around are gripped with World Cup fever,

bless us with understanding,

strengthen us with patience and

grant us the gift of sympathy if needed.

Amen

10 moments when Britain prayed

Heaven help us : 10 moments when Britain prayed for its survival (Faith Central blog) provides a summary of a recent article in the BBC History magazine. Quoting Praying for Britain by Natalie Mears, it highlights 10 out the 540 nationwide prayer calls made by English monarchs and other leaders between the Reformation and 1947, the last time that England held a nationwide day of Prayer.

Day of prayer on climate change

Sunday 4th October is the suggested date for a Day of prayer on climate change. Churches are invited to set aside time to pray on this crucial issue. Prayer and other resources are available for download.

The day is promoted by the Environmental Issues Network, of which A Rocha UK is a member. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones said, "I urge all Christians to pray for the earthing of Heaven on this day of prayer. Each day I make my own prayer with these words: Holy Jesus, Son of Man, come in glory and renew the face of the earth."

Launde Abbey restoration gets the go ahead

The Synod of the Diocese of Leicester has approved the project to save Launde Abbey, following fundraising and much prayer. Visit savelaundeabbey.co.uk for full details.

The Launde Prayer

Father,
Here may the faithful find salvation
and the careless be awakened;
Here may the doubting find faith
and the anxious be encouraged;
Here may the tempted find help
and the sorrowful comfort;
Here may the weary find rest
and the strong be renewed;
Here may the aged find consolation
and the young be inspired;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Pray the Bible

An online edition of Matthew Henry’s Method of Prayer is available on the Internet. Matthew Henry's method, quite simply, is to “pray the Bible” and so the website is full of prayers composed almost entirely of Scripture. In addition to prayers of adoration, of confession of thanksgiving and intercession, in addition to prayers for many occasions. These include: morning and evening, and for Sundays and more specifically: “For Those Weighed Down and Burdened” or “For Those Who are Sick and Weak.” If you want to grow in your practice of prayer - and who doesn’t? - do check out this site today.

Swine Flu: advice‏ and prayers

From today, all UK households will receive leaflets giving information about influenza A/H1N1 ('swine flu') and advice on how to prevent its spread. The advice is the same as for regular flu: use clean tissues when you cough or sneeze; bin tissues after use; and wash hands with soap, hot water or gel.

The Church of England has published the following selection of prayers for use in churches from this weekend, in light of the developing situation:

Heavenly Father,
giver of life and health:
comfort and restore those who are sick,
that they may be strengthened in their weakness
and have confidence in your unfailing love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Creator and Father of all,
we pray for those who are ill.
Bless them, and those who serve their needs,
that they may put their whole trust in you
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Online Bible verses give hope in credit crunch

Words of hope and specially selected Bible verses have been added to the Church of England’s Matter of Life and Debt online initiative to help those suffering from the agony of hopelessness in the current financial situation. Finding hope when struggling with debt complements practical advice and resources for escaping problem debt with simple ways to develop a sense of hope for the future.

The new pages advise website visitors to look beyond the here and now, to count their blessings, and to remember that they are valuable to God, even if they lose the ‘status’ that comes with jobs and money. They will also find encouragement to pray to God about financial worries, with Psalms 42 and 130 offered as words of prayer.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130)

Prayer on being made redundant

In response to the growing number of job losses, the C of E has followed up a Prayer for the current financial situation by publishing a Prayer on being made redundant:

Hear me as I cry out in confusion,
help me to think clearly,
and calm my soul.

As life carries on,
may I know your presence with me
each and every day.

Stir-up Sunday

Stir-up Sunday is an informal term in the Anglican Church for the last Sunday before the season of Advent. The term comes from the opening words of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Through an association of ideas, the day has subsequently become connected with the preparation of Christmas puddings, and many people still prepare and "stir up" their Christmas puds on this day.

Resources for the credit crunch

Let's look at some practical (and free) resources to help put credit crunch theology into practice:

• Care for the Family provides a range of resources on money issues including the Money Secret website (which offers a free online course) and support if you decide try the ‘Cash for a Month’ technique.
• Stewardship also offer resources in the form of challenges, which can be used by individuals wanting to get a grip on their personal finance or used as exercises in home groups to practically apply what is being taught and discussed.
• In Balance your budget we discussed the Church of England's resource: the Matter of Life and Debt website. They include a selection of prayers for those worried about money .

Prayer for the current financial situation

The C of E has published a new Prayer for the current financial situation:

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
banks collapse,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Why (and how) to pray for the economy

Following an earlier post on Credit crunch theology, here's a thought-provoking blog post on Why I Pray for the Economy. Although written in the US, the sentiments can apply to the UK as well, especially the reminder to make

supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings ... for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Prayers to ease exam stress

Infusion numbers several teachers amongst its ranks, and the Church of England has published a selection of prayers offering reassurance to students and teachers in coping with the current examination period. See also this post on prayers and meditations that were written with education in mind.

Balance your budget

The Church of England launched a tool to help balance your household budget in time for yesterday's Budget. The Matter of Life and Debt website pages now feature an easy-to-use, interactive, downloadable Excel spreadsheet - which totals up income and spending, and allows householders to make adjustments until they are balancing their budget. The resources include prayers for guidance, emphasising that the Bible teaches us to be content with what we have, rather than find satisfaction from over-spending.

One prayer requests:

Lord God, your will is to bring hope and a future to all your people. Trusting in your steadfast love, we ask your guidance as we work out a household budget. Help us to learn to let no debt remain outstanding, except the debt to love one another, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Word of God - what does it mean?

If you are planning to spend Lent focusing on your Bible reading or prayer life, ReSource have published a new booklet which may be of interest. The Word of God - what does it mean?, by Alison Morgan, takes a careful look at what we mean by words and how we use them, and then asks whether our human understanding of words limits the way in which we think about the Word and words of God. Offering a mixture of theological reflection, testimony, poetry, and image, the booklet challenges our preconceptions and affirms the word of God as something intriguing, dynamic and life-changing. It is available (£3) from the ReSource website. You can see excerpts on the new prayer page on the ReSource website.

Leicester's Lent Pilgrimage

During Lent 2008, Bishop Tim will be Crossing the Diocese - he will be a pilgrim walking 215 miles and visiting 114 churches in the Leicester Diocese (download the walking plan). The pilgrimage takes place between Thursday morning and Sunday evening on each of the six weeks of Lent. Along the way others will join Bishop Tim as part of their Lent observance, and he will also meet and talk with the people of the diocese at a variety of events. There will be stories to be told, heard and shared. The pilgrimage begins and end in the Cathedral with an Ash Wednesday service and the Palm Sunday service. Although there will be opportunities to meet the bishop on his pilgrimage he also hopes for times of prayer and silence as part of his personal discipline during Lent.

Bishop Tim asks for prayer for all that is planned and encourages us to share in the pilgrimage prayer during the coming days:
O Lord God, on today’s journey you walk beside us,
on our journey through Lent you walk ahead of us,
on our journey through life you are the end of all our longing.
On all our journeys may you be the way, the truth and the life
which sustains, guides and fulfils us. Amen.

In praise of ... the Covenant Service

Good to see The Guardian with an editorial piece on In praise of ... the covenant service. This refers to the Methodist Church's Covenant Service, celebrated in January each year. The Methodist Church website says that the service is for members to "celebrate all that God has done for us, and affirm that we give our lives and choices to God". The traditional Covenant prayer makes it very clear that this affirmation is a serious one that embraces the whole of life. As the website says:

"Most people find it quite tough to say, and really mean it. But the prayer is so central to the Christian life that other Churches have also adopted it. In our culture we tend to prize our ability to make decisions and choose our own path in life. It can feel very hard to give that up. But this prayer is like a love poem. It is about surrendering to God in love and joy."

Spirituality and sticky-toffee pudding

Interesting to see that The Telegraph Travel section is recommending holiday breaks with religious communities. Our local retreat centre, Launde Abbey, is featured - in fact the title of this blog post comes from from the article as it describes Launde as "an Anglican community where sticky toffee pudding is a speciality and salads come fresh from the Victorian walled kitchen garden". Launde offers themed retreats and, if you want it, spiritual direction, but many come here simply for a quiet day or a restful break and peace is very much the keynote.

The Retreat Association website has more information on retreats as well as further resources including a Prayer for Stillness.

Foot and Mouth

While another outbreak of Foot and Mouth is mildly inconvenient for walkers, it is of course devastating for the famers involved. The Ramblers Association website provides updates on the outbreak and advice to walkers and other visitors to the countryside. Meanwhile, here are some prayers for those affected by the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease .

Prayers for a Monday morning

The Church of England has today published a selection of prayers to help weary workers kick the post-holiday blues. The five prayers - by authors ranging from Charles Wesley to Sheridan James, a curate in Catford - have been selected to give busy people a chance to reflect and recharge with God's help. The prayers are taken from Pocket Prayers for Work (Church House Publishing, 2004) and are available online, alongside a range of other prayers on contemporary concerns.