Prayers for Various Occasions

Each prayer may end with

We make this prayer through Jesus Christ. Amen.

or with a versicle and response familiar to the congregation.

FOR THE QUEEN

God, the source of all authority,
bless our queen, Elizabeth, her family
and the family of nations she upholds;
may she remain a worthy focus of our loyalty,
and point us unfailingly to a higher commonwealth,
the true humanity
to which she and all her subjects owe allegiance;
for you are the God of nations; you are our God.

FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT

Spirit of justice, creator Spirit;
help us to make and keep this country
a home for all its different peoples,
and grant to our government and all its representatives
imagination, skill and energy
that there may grow amongst us aroha and peace.

FOR OUR COUNTRY

God of the southern sea
and of these islands,
of Māori, Pākehā *
and of all who dwell in our land;
we give you thanks and praise for our country,
and for what we have achieved together.
Increase our trust in one another;
strengthen our quest for justice,
and bring us to unity and a common purpose.
You have made us of one blood;
make us also of one mind.

* This may be adapted in Polynesia

FOR THE ARMED FORCES

God our stronghold and defence;
we commend to you those whose task it is
to defend us in danger;
inspire them in war to serve our country well;
in peace, hold them ready and alert.
In their lives may they bring honour to our country’s name.

FOR TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS

God the source of all our inspiration,
help us to understand ourselves, our world and you;
and grant to those who teach us and our children
respect for others’ inventiveness and questioning,
and for themselves commitment to truth.

FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges and universities
(especially . . . ),
that they may be lively centres for sound learning,
new discovery and the pursuit of wisdom;
grant that those who teach
and those who learn
may find you to be the source of all truth.

HARVEST THANKSGIVING

Blessed are you, God of all creation,
for you give us abundantly, thirty, sixty and a hundredfold;
we praise you for harvest
and for the assurance of food and drink for another year;
strengthen us, as we enjoy what we are given,
to help the hungry and intolerably poor.

FOR PEACE

O God,
it is your will to hold both heaven and earth
in a single peace.
Let the design of your great love
shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows,
and give peace to your Church,
peace among nations,
peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts.

FOR GOOD USE OF LEISURE

O God,
you rested the seventh day and are still at work;
in the course of this busy life
give us times of refreshment and peace;
and grant that we may so use our leisure
to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds,
that our spirits may be opened
to the goodness of your creation.

A THANKSGIVING FOR OUR COUNTRY

Blessed are you, God of the universe.
You have created us, and given us life.

Blessed are you, God of the planet earth.
You have set our world like a radiant jewel in the heavens,
and filled it with action, beauty, suffering, struggle and hope.

Blessed are you, God of Aotearoa New Zealand *
in all the peoples who live here,
in all the lessons we have learned,
in all that remains for us to do.

Blessed are you because you need us;
because you make us worthwhile,
because you give us people to love
and work to do
for your universe, for your world and for ourselves.

* This may be adapted in Polynesia