PRAYER

Lord of time,

Who holds in hands etched with our names,

The past, present and future of our world,

We turn to You in this season of mists,

Of late harvest and of the bounty of the earth.

As time slowly drains liquid gold, and russet and orange

From the Autumn of this year,

You, our Lord, our God,

Hold these moments safe

Within Your Creator hands.

As harvest gathers in, and fields lie fallow,

We look into our lives and wonder

What harvest we have given,

What fruit we have provided,

That will nourish Your Kingdom of love.

In a world scarred by want and need,

Your endless generosity of heart and hand

Continues to inspire us to give what we can and when

we can

To those around us, whose needs,

Open or hidden,

Can be met through our kindliness.

Lord of time,

As the nights darken and the days grow short,

With hard frosts, and crisp mornings, and long, dank

afternoons

And the smell of woodsmoke and the decaying earth

hangs over us,

Remind us at this time of how within decay, next year’s

growth is buried,

Within the dying, the promise of living is being renewed.

This parable of falling and rising, of dying and living

Plays out once more in the turning of seasons.

We are reminded, Lord of time,

That all time is Your time,

Each second, minute, hour and day.

Each week, month, year and decade,

And all eternity itself.

Let us not fear time but embrace it,

For you, Lord of time, shape and burnish each moment

And gift each moment to us all.

May this time be giving time.

May this time be blessing time.

May this time be gracious time.