Women in Prayer

As we enter Women’s Month, a time dedicated to honouring and celebrating the incredible contributions and sacrifices of women in our society, we are called to join women in prayer. This month provides us with a special opportunity to recognise and support the women in our communities and beyond.

Mary’s Song found in Luke 1:46-56 is a profound declaration of hope, reflecting Mary’s deep faith and understanding of God’s promises. It is for this reason that the prayer below is offered for use during this Women’s Month.

 

Our lives sing praises to the Lord our God, who is setting us free.

The Lord remembers us in our humiliation, victimisation, abuse and distress.

A time will come when those who abuse and victimise will see us and call us blessed, because of the great things the Lord is doing in our humble lives.

Holy is the Lord’s name.

From one generation to another the Lord is constantly on the side of the oppressed.

As on the day of the Exodus, the Lord stretches out with a mighty arm to scatter the abusers and victimisers with all their evil plans.

The Lord brings down the arrogant power-hungry abusers from their loftiness.

The Lord lifts up the despised daily.

The Lord fills the exploited with good things and sends the exploiters away with empty hands.

The Lord’s promises remain new and fresh to this day.

Therefore, the hope of liberation burning in us will not be extinguished.

The Lord will remember us, today, tomorrow and beyond. Great is the Lord’s faithfulness. Amen.

(Adapted from Luke 1:46-56 and from prayer by Zephania Kameeta Namibia)

Almighty God, who sent messengers at different times to announce liberation in Jesus Christ, and to denounce injustice, oppression and the exploitation of your people, give us the sensitivity to hear prophetic voices today, that we may turn from unjust deeds to wait in happiness and penitence for Christ our Liberator. Amen.

(Anesia Nascimento, Brazil)

 

Awakening Prophetic Agency and Urgency

2024 07 07 Sunday Sermon

Sikawu Makubalo: Awakening Prophetic Agency and Urgency
Ezekiel 2:1-5Psalm 48; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13

Dear Friends,

The ministry of the church ought to be prophetic: giving warning as well as offering hope and healing. We are urged to highlight what it means to be prophetic agents by the Presiding Bishop under the theme “Awakening Prophetic Agency and Urgency, Reviving the Church of Christ”. 

Prophetic agents should have the unwavering willingness to challenge the systems of oppression and exploitation with a deep commitment to justice motivated by the love of Christ and learning to love from Christ. The church should ask herself what it means to be prophetic agents in a constitutional democracy and 30 years after the first democratic elections. Prophetic agents are called to critique the status quo, exposing its flaws and calling for change. They articulate a vision of what could be, grounded in God’s justice, hope, peace and love and they have the moral and spiritual courage to advocate for the marginalised. They help people see beyond their current reality, helping them imagine a new world shaped by God’s justice, hope, peace and love.

This is the challenge before us: to see the marginalised, identify oppressive and exploiting systems, so that we can love courageously as we proclaim the Gospel by word and deed. So, this month we will ask God to awaken in us prophetic agency and urgency.

Grace and peace, Sikawu