Fifth Sunday of Easter

The following resources are in the form of a slide show.

Please click on the side arrows to move forward or back in the sequence.

The readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter follow: (a useful commentary on these readings here)

Prayers of Intercession Fifth Sunday of Easter A

Let us in this month of May-spend time in the Upper Room- in prayer with Mary, as Pope Francis invites us to do, patiently waiting for the Holy Spirit to come and take hold of us.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For the leaders of the Church, that they be filled with the Spirit and lead us with moral courage and compassion in these times of confinement and isolation and loss.
At a time when some have lost direction and others seek a roadmap out of this crisis, let us all hear and believe Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel of John- that Jesus is the way by which we travel to the fulness of God.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For all governments and nation leaders, that they will come together in peace and genuine dialogue to share resources and solutions so that emerging from this pandemic, the way ahead might help and support those in greatest need.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For all health care staff in all care settings, whose professionalism is evident daily, that they are protected, resourced and kept safe to do their vital work.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those suffering from poor mental health, grant that they gain strength from their faith and receive loving support through their struggles.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For our young people whose education has been disrupted, may they make the best of the learning opportunities available and may they not lose hope in the future.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For all who are sick, for whatever reason, and for those who have asked for our prayers, that they find healing and full recovery.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

For those who have died and those whose anniversaries occur at this time, we remember them and bring them before our Heavenly Father.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Let us call to mind our own intentions at this time...

And so to our Cluster Prayer

"Behold I stand at the door and knock (Revelation 3 v20

Lord continue to bless our community
in this time of transition.
Help us on our journey
to grow from a maintenance church
to a missionary church.
Give us the courage
to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough
to receive all who need
human love and fellowship;
narrow enough to shut out
all envy, pride and prejudice.
Kindle in us the fire of your love
that all who come here
will find joy, peace and love.
Make this a house of prayer
and a gateway to your kingdom.
AMEN

Questions. (Framed for a group discussion but can be reflected on individually)

The apostles made provision for the poor in their community. Do we know how the poor are doing in ours at this difficult time? Who do we know who could give us some advice about helping the poor locally? Or perhaps make a donation to a local foodbank - details are in this week's Cluster News.
The range of our imagery of God is so wide from Almighty God and Father to "Abba". Jesus calls him "Abba". How might that affect the way we talk to God in prayer this week?
In your faith journey, how have you dealt with the closed doors of churches? Jesus is the Way, but not necessarily to a pew. Maybe it's time to reset the SatNav on our journey and find other, more creative routes to travel together?

End of Prayer resource