St Andrew’s Day: Ecumenical prayers

A Prayer for St Andrew’s Day

God, our loving Father,
St Andrew introduced Peter,
the Greek visitors,
& the little boy with loaves & fishes,
to your Son, Jesus Christ.
May we be like him
in sharing friendship and hospitality,
and in faithfulness to Jesus
and his Kingdom of justice,
love & peace.
May our country be a community
in which everyone matters,
everyone has an honoured place,
and the dignity of each is assured
by our faith in you as Father of us all.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
AMEN

Intercessions

St Andrew’s Day Intercessions

All powerful and ever present God, you looked in love on Andrew,
the ordinary fisherman, and called him to be a disciple and friend of Jesus, your Son. We honour Andrew for the witness of his life and martyrdom and are pleased to call him our national patron. Today, with Andrew, we come before you in prayer.

We pray for the fishermen and farmers, workers, entrepreneurs and public servants who labour for their living and for the building up of our nation. May their work, conditions and rewards be just. May we always remain attentive to the contributions and needs of those not actively involved in the world of commerce.

We pray for all Christians in Scotland today, aware of our many different traditions and understandings, and aware also of our common faith and baptism. May we grow fuller in respect and love for one another. May the cross become an ever clearer sign of our unity in Jesus. May Jesus’ resurrection become an ever greater source of common hope in the full coming of your Kingdom.

We pray for our Scottish nation today in all its wonderful diversity of history, culture, creed, philosophy and race. May we come to recognise your image and likeness more fully in every one of our sisters and brothers. May we rejoice in those things that make us each distinct and individual while building up the beauty and harmony of your creation. May we appreciate more fully what it really means to call you Father.

We pray for our world in this time of crisis. We pray particularly for our political and religious leaders – but we all need your support and guidance in these difficult days May we be more attentive to your message of love. May we, as nations and individuals, learn to reconcile and respect, to labour for justice and peace, and to attend to the needs of all of your children. May we, singly and together, play our part in helping your Kingdom to come in our day.

The Prayer and Intercessions are taken from a St Andrew’s Day Service organised by Glasgow Churches Together. They can be freely adapted to suit the circumstances in which they are being used.