Staff Devotions for October 29

Opening Sentence [GF]

All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

Canticle—The Third Song of Isaiah [MO]

Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your God will be your glory.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 8 [EC, QC responsively by half verse]

O LORD our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised above the heavens.

You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,

What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the son of man that you should seek him out?

You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn him with glory and honor;

You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
you put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.

O LORD our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!

Meditation [TM] (Meditation and Prayer from Ian Fraser The Saints of God Are Down Our Street, Wild Goose Publications)

Prayer [KS]

Lord God, where would we be without those who have gone before? They carved out paths for us to follow.

They endured, as Jesus did, mocking, flaying, torture, death, keeping faith by the power of the Spirit, restored through the gift of forgiveness when they slipped; so that, renewed, they could continue to proclaim and serve.

Among them are those who are specially precious to us. Tell them we love them, we miss them, and long to be with them again once we have given back, over days and years, whatever is looked for in the earthly life entrusted to us.

Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen

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The Lord’s Prayer [TM]

Collect [DD]

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up
to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into
glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that
we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none
other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus
Christ your Son our Lord, Amen.

Grace [PG]

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do
infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory
to him from generation to generation in the Church,
and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.