Loving God,
We bring before you
this bright and brilliant corner of London called Vauxhall.
Amidst the rumble
of trains
and the belching tail
pipes of traffic
lives a glorious
and vibrant collection of people made in your image.
We thank you that
they have come to call Vauxhall home,
and made their
place in communities that are rich in diversity, culture and humanity.
We pray for all who
work to bring our communities together,
who foster the love
of neighbours,
and help hands stretch
out in friendship, compassion and care.
We remember all
those who today feel set aside and unheard.
May they soon find
their place of welcome.
We pray for those
for whom Vauxhall is a place of acceptance and self-expression
in the face of
prejudice and intolerance.
We thank you for
the flamboyant, the flirtatious and the fabulous.
We pray for
pleasure-seekers of all shapes and sizes, restless in their quest for satisfaction.
May they soon find the rest they seek in your loving arms.
We pray for those
for whom Vauxhall is a place of transience.
For people with no
permanent home
who rest their
heads in our parks,
and quench their
thirst on our street corners.
We give thanks for
the work of Graham House and The Big Issue,
and pray for staff,
residents and vendors.
For squeals of
pleasure in our playgrounds,
and noisy disputes
on the playing fields.
For nattering
tongues and clattering teacups in our cafes,
and barely coherent
debate down the pub;
for the brilliance
of community hall bingo on a wet Wednesday afternoon,
we give you thanks
O Lord.
We pray for tired
teachers in their classrooms,
and the throbbing feet
of Police and Community Officers patrolling their beats;
for tender hands
dressing wounds,
and ears that
listen without prejudice
to tales of
emotional pain and mental scars.
Come Holy Spirit
Come,
bring unity and
peace
to the cacophony of
urban life
that we call
Vauxhall.
Amen.
