This Advent, Bishop Stephen has asked everyone in the diocese to pray together a simple prayer, suitable for homes and church congregations. A version has also been written for use in collective worship in schools.
Bishop Stephen says: "In this time of so many challenges and so much change, I am commiting myself to prayer each day. I hope you will join me, at home, at school or at church in saying these simple prayers. By prayer, we are bringing into this time of darkness the light of Christ."
Download the schools' prayer powerpoint below. More resources, including videos in British Sign Language, are linked below.
Faithful God,
your world is full of fear.
Hunger, cold, and loneliness are all around.
Your children are hurting.
Into our darkness comes the child of Bethlehem -
Jesus, the light who cannot be overcome.
He is with us always.
He speaks words of hope and words of truth.
May his Spirit fill our hearts this Advent
and awaken us to your purposes:
making us generous in giving,
active in serving,
and alert to your reign of justice, mercy, and peace,
which he calls us to bring to birth - here, and now.
Amen.
Listen to this prayer here or watch it in British Sign Language here.
In faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the light of Christ might shine brightly this Advent:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the hungry might be fed and the homeless find shelter:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the lonely might find friendship and the poor find relief:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the refugee might reach safety and the victim of war might know peace:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the light of Christ might shine brightly this Advent:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the Holy Spirit might fill our hearts and awaken us to your purposes:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That we might give generously and serve readily:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That we might work to build the coming Kingdom:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
That the light of Christ might shine brightly this Advent:
in faith we pray
we pray to you our God.
your world can feel scary.
People are hungry, cold, lonely, and hurting.
Help us remember that Jesus comes into our darkness,
and that he is always with us.
Fill our hearts this Advent:
make us generous in giving,
active in serving,
and always seeking fairness, kindness, and peace.
Amen.
Listen to this prayer here or watch it in British Sign Language here.
Downloads
Schools Advent prayer powerpoint
Advent prayer litany powerpoint
Videos
The Advent prayer for the Diocese (download this here)
The Advent prayer for the Diocese in British Sign Language
An Advent Prayer for use in schools in the Diocese
An Advent Prayer for use in schools in the Diocese in British Sign Language
Be apart of our Advent prayer!
Record the diocesan Advent prayer or the Advent prayer for schools and share it with us by either emailing comms@salisbury.anglican.org or share it on social media by using the hashtag: #AdventPrayer2022. We will collate them all into one video to share on our channels!