Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Our church community is spending the next few weeks thinking about how God is calling us to be more intentional about our discipleship, both personally and corporately. At the same time, a number of us are praying specifically about how we can ensure that Holy Cross Hackett can develop as a key priority our ministry to families and children.
While attending our Hackett Mothers Union (AMUA) branch meeting today, Tuesday 16 June, I was therefore especially struck by the liturgy – coincidentally headed “Discipleship” – with which we began our time together, led by Rev Joan Smith. One of the prayers particularly leapt out at me:
Help us to see the responsibilities we have as Christ’s disciples. We ask for your guidance and blessing
MU worship and prayer book
– Upon children as they are introduced to the faith
– Upon teenagers as they doubt and question
– Upon parents as they search for right ways to nurture their children in the faith.
Show us ways of patience and encouragement.
You’ll find the whole of this liturgy below, and I would encourage you all to pray through it, whether or not you are (currently) a MU member.
We are so blessed to have a faithful and active MU branch in our parish. I am sure that the charism of this remarkable organisation, expressed through its Five Objectives, has much more to contribute to the life of our church, especially through upholding and encouraging families – children, parents, and grandchildren, but also cousins, carers, honorary uncles and aunts, and hangers-on! – as together we seek to walk in the steps of Jesus.
God bless, Tim
CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP – a Mothers Union liturgy
Leader
O God, our Father, we come before you to praise you and to offer ourselves as your disciples on earth.
Let us pray:
O God our Father, through your grace and our baptism you have given us a new beginning, a new way of living. We praise you for this opportunity. We worship you.
Leader
Living Lord, conscious of your willingness to forgive, we ask for your mercy.
We call to mind our many sins, times when we have been unkind and unloving, times when we have failed in our attempts to live according to our baptismal promises. Once again we ask for you to strengthen our resolve to do better.
Leader
Through our baptism and our membership of Mothers’ Union we are called to regular Bible reading.
May we read the scriptures regularly and make use of times when we can join with others for discussion and learning.
Leader
Through our baptism and our membership of Mothers’ Union, we are called to regular worship.
Help us to value the faith communities to which we belong and the opportunities we have to grow closer to you by joining with others for public worship and the reception of Holy Communion.
Leader
Through our baptism and our membership of Mothers’ Union we are called to pray regularly.
In prayer we share our lives with God. Help us to develop a practice of prayer to fit our situation, one that is regular and intimate, one that is reassuring and searching, one that grows and changes as we grow older and our circumstances change.
A Bible reading may be used here.
A Member
We pray for Christians in all walks of life, for those who struggle in government, business and education to uphold their Christian ideals.
Dear Lord, strengthen and encourage them.
We pray for doctors and nurses and for all who show your love by the care they give to the sick and the needy.
Dear Lord, strengthen and encourage them.
Help us to see the responsibilities we have as Christ’s disciples. We ask for your guidance and blessing
Upon children as they are introduced to the faith
Upon teenagers as they doubt and question
Upon parents as they search for right ways to nurture their children in the faith.
Show us ways of patience and encouragement.
Uphold and sustain all who are widowed. Give them strength in times of loneliness, joy in friendship with others and the knowledge of your constant presence with them.
Show us ways of expressing love, friendship, and sharing.
May your healing grace and love be with those who are terminally ill,
those whom there are no quality of life
those who feel very alone in the world
Show us ways of love, compassion and understanding.
Help us to reflect on the influence we can have as Christians in community groups
Jesus Christ, our model for this earthly life, help us always to act in such a way that will bring honour to your name, and by our attitudes, our responses and our ways of living help us to be living examples of your love in our local groups and community.
Help us to reflect, as MU members, on the influence we can have in our parish.
Jesus Christ, keep us mindful of the high calling through baptism and Mothers’ Union. May our commitment to family life encourage us to support those who come seeking baptism and marriage, and to nurture parents, children and young adults. Enable us to co-operate with other groups in our parish so that our ministry will reflect the depth of our discipleship. Keep us positive and give us open minds, so that we will be seen as great ambassadors for Christ. AMEN
We pray together the Mothers’ Union Prayer:
Loving Lord, we thank you for your love so freely given to us all. We pray for families around the world. Bless the work of the Mothers’ as we seek to share your love through the encouragement, strengthening and support of marriage and family life. Empowered by your Spirit, may we be united in prayer and worship, and in love and service reach out as your hands across the world. In Jesus’ name. AMEN
Leader
We are privileged to have been introduced to the faith. May we always be recognisable as disciples of Christ in all we do.
Loving Father, we thank you for all your blessings, most especially for our baptism and our membership of Mothers’ Union. Help us to treasure the time we have together today;
A time to offer encouragement,
A time to strengthen the bonds of membership,
A time to heal disagreements of the past, and
A time to enjoy fellowship together.