Tuesday 21 May 2013

a prayer for vauxhall


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.