Thoughts for the Day
Sunday, 9th May 2021: Rogation Sunday
God Praise Psalm 104 Rogation
Reading : Verses from Psalm 104
There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed
to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are
filled with good things.....
When you send forth your spirit,
they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.
(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
Thoughts
St Florence, a parish next-door to Manorbier, started a 'potato in a bucket' challenge last year as a fund-raiser for the church, and have repeated it again. So I have a bucket in the greenhouse with one potato in it. The green leaves have just reached the top of the bucket, and I am watering it frequently as well as keeping the night frosts from it. I have no hope of winning the largest potato in the bucket, or the most potatoes in the buckets, but it's great fun watching it grow.
Today is the start of the Rogation season, a wonderful time of the year as the cycle of growth begins again. Rogation is such an old season, a time when we ask God's blessing on the crops, and perhaps on us as we tend and nurture the crops and animals. If we live in the middle of a town then perhaps there is even more need for us to remember this season, for each of us depends on all that grows and lives for our food. We cannot exist without our farmers and growers, and we need to pray for them and their work.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
we have damaged our world,
and our climate is changing.
We ask your forgiveness.
Help us to make changes to our lifestyle,
and to care for the world around us.
We also pray for all who grow crops
and those who care for animals,
as well as all involved in bringing
food to our table.
Amen.
You might like to use some of these prayers today and this week, as we enter the period of Rogationtide:
- Heavenly Father, we bring before you those whose lives and livelihoods revolve around land and this season. We
pray for all who till the soil and tend the crops, for all who cherish beast and fowl, and for all who harvest and prepare our food. We ask that you will protect them from harm as they go about their daily duties, guard them from the dangers of fatigue and loneliness, and share the burden of climate and financial worries. Above all Father, bring them home safely at the end of each day. We ask this in the name of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. - For this rogation route, for the familiar, well-trod paths, and the countryside and landscape that we have known and loved for so long. Father we thank you.
For this world of creation, the colour, the sound, the scent and the feel of rain, wind and sun. Father we thank you.
For this community and its people, the friendship and interest, the livelihoods and businesses, all interconnected and mutually supportive. Father we thank you.
For the history and heritage, the stories and culture of the past inextricably linked to the vibrancy of the present. Father we thank you.
For those who are new and those who have lived here forever, for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of dreams. Father we thank you.
For changes that have taken place, and for the ability to move with them and the opportunity to learn from them. Father we thank you.
For this world that you have given us, and for giving us each other, this village, this community. Father we thank you Amen.
3. Almighty God, we the people of the seed come before you to absorb the energy of your love and creativity.
We come patiently to be still in your presence.
We come with hope to grow to new life.
We come to be brought to fullness and to be sown in your world.
On this Rogation Day we ask your blessing on the growth of all things.
For the fields sown with corn that surround us – loving energy of God nurture the seed.
For the seeds that provide food – loving energy of God nurture the seed.
For the growth of livestock for food – loving energy of God nurture the seed.
For farmers that struggle to survive with less and less nurture the seed - loving energy of God nurture the seed.
For those in the food supply industry finding ways to reduce air miles – loving energy of God nurture the seed.
For governments, which seek to allocate food and resources to starving peoples – loving energy of God nurture the seed. For agricultural scientists who try to feed a hungry world – loving energy of God nurture the seed.
For aid agencies, especially remembering Christian Aid in their work to enable people to grow their way out of poverty– loving energy of God nurture the seed.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.
(Prayers from the The Arthur Rank Centre)