St Pauls Parkhurst

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28/08/2026

EVENING PRAYER:
28 August

ENTERING INTO PRAYER

Quieten your breath.
Listen to the sounds outside,
or to the silence of the night.
Notice how do I feel?
Open your heart.
Soften your body.
Ask for the grace you need this night.
Become aware of God’s loving gaze resting gently on you.
On us.
Open your heart to receive
From the One
who waits;
who knows;
who hears.
And who will not be outdone in generosity.

When you feel ready take some time to read the prayer poem below slowly – a few times. Notice the word or phrase that feels most inviting. Just stay with that for a few minutes – or you may want to talk with God about it, as one friend speaks to another.

PRAYER OF THE HOURS

Dear Artist of the Universe, Beloved Sculptor, Singer, and Author of my life...

Born of your image I have made a home in the open fields of your heart. The magnetic tug of your invitation to grow is slowly transforming me into a gift for the world. Mentor me into healthy ways of living.
..Help me remember to pause...

Make of me a faithful vigil in the heart of darkness, I want to be a sentinel through all the dark hours. When the deep darkness falls, let me be your star. Name me One Who Watches Through the Night. Reveal to me the holiness of lingering with mystery. Employ me in the holy art of waiting.
..O teach me to live with a vigilant heart...

Make of me a dawn. Let me be a small voice of joy, rising with the sun. Color me with sunrise. Let me be your awakening first light of new day. Make me a joyful, unexpected surprise in the lives of many, an everlasting birthday. I want to be your goodness rising, your grace poured forth in every hour. Name me Dawn, sweet beginning of every day, gift for a sleepy world.
..O make of me a rising dawn...

Make of me a midmorning blessing. As you breathe me into this day, let me become your breath. Transform me into early morning sun, bright with potential and possibility. Let me be your love made visible. Sing through me in the mid-morning hours. Make me your musical instrument.
..Strum a melody of blessing with my life...

Make me your noonday sun, bright with passion, on fire with truth, enduringly courageous. Let me be light for the world. Create in me a nonviolent heart. O let me be your heart. Help me believe the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it is. Let me be the peace for which I pray. Teach me to energize others, to stir up their enthusiasm without overwhelming them.
..Make my power to love stronger than my love of power...

Make of me a midafternoon shadow that I may soften the intensity of the sun. Let me be shade. Robe me with wisdom. Enable me to be at home with impermanence. Teach me the dance of surrender. O make of me a great letting go. May the sacred emptiness of my life help others to know fullness. May I never fear a death that brings me life.
..Let me rejoice in the harvest of each dying day...

Make of me a twilight: wake of color, trail of glory. In the evening of life transform me into a song of gratitude. I want to be an evening star for those who have lost their way. I want to be beauty at the end of each day. On my pilgrimage through the day, write mystery stories with my life. Out of my faithful attendance to the hours pour forth the incense of your praise.
..Transform me into a song of gratitude...

Make me your holy darkness, your blessed night. Transform me into a great silence that drowns out distracting noises. Fashion me into one who sees with the eyes of the soul. I long to be a protective mantle of comforting darkness for all who need rest. Give me insight into the Holy Mystery that cradles me through the night.
..O make of me your night prayer...

Help me to remember to pause on my daily pilgrimage through the hours... Teach me to live with a vigilant heart...

Make of me a rising dawn... Strum a melody of blessing with my life... Make my power to love stronger than my love of power...

Let me rejoice in the harvest of each dying day... Transform me into a song of gratitude... Make of me your night prayer...

Enfold me in the circle of your Time-Enduring-Now, even as it was in the beginning and shall be forever.

Amen.

Take a moment to bring to mind anyone you know who is struggling and who needs our prayers. Hold them for a moment in the light of God’s loving gaze. And together as a community of prayer we enfold all those who have asked for our prayers and those situations that weigh most heavily on our hearts.

We end by saying:

May each one of us be blessed this night
and may we know God’s presence within as we sleep. Amen.

10/08/2026

10 AUGUST 2026

EVENING PRAYER

Take a few moments to pause at the end of the day. Know that the One who loves you beyond imagining has drawn you into this moment.

Look back with God on the day that has passed.

-What has been the greatest gift of this day? Take a moment to thank God for it.

- Is there something that sits heavily on my heart? An anxiety? A grief? A sense of regret? Bring that to God asking for God’s peace.

- What is my deepest longing tonight? Take a moment to share it with God.

When you are ready you may like to pray with these words:

SOW IT ALL

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a single grain;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
—John 12.24

You are not just one seed.
You don’t have to go and die for Jesus.
You are a whole bag of seeds.
Strew yourself in this world.

With every act of kindness or generosity,
every time you forgive,
another seed slips through your fingers.
Every time you care about someone,
even a stranger, especially when it’s risky,
you scatter a handful of seeds.
Let them go.
Toss your love wildly into this world.

Scatter seeds in good soil and poor.
Many will be eaten by birds
or trampled under foot.
But only the ones you throw away will grow.

You have a whole bag of love.
Sow it all.

______
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light

-Read the words slowly a few times.
-Stay with the word or phrase
which resonates for you.
-Spend time with God talking about it and listening to what he says to you.

###

May the Lord bless us and keep us, may God make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us. May God give us peace.

Amen.

09/08/2026

EVENING PRAYER 9 AUGUST
WOMEN’S DAY

Become slowly still.
Quieten your breath.
Listen to the sounds outside,
or to the silence of the night.
Notice how do I feel?
Open your heart.
Soften your body.
Ask for the grace
you need this night.

Become aware of God’s loving gaze resting gently on you.
On us.

Open your heart
to receive
from the One
who waits;
who knows;
who hears and who will
not be outdone in generosity

WOMAN COME OUT OF THE CAVE

The Creator-Beloved asks:
“What are you doing in the cave?”
What and who are you hiding from?
Why do you fear being seen and heard?
Is it the fear of being silenced by others;
Attacked, physically or in words.
Seen as making trouble?

I try to protect myself.
By becoming small enough
To fit into the sanctuary of the cave.

The Creator-Beloved,
Who called Elijah out of the cave says:
To me. To us.
Women who fear for
our lives,
our safety,
our dignity,
our reputation.

Come out of the cave
You cannot live there.
Come out of the cave
Into the light.
No longer bowed down
To fit into small hidden spaces.

Come out of the cave.
Stand tall.
On top of the mountain.
Let the sun fall on your face.
Feel my breath,
Hear my voice
in the still small breeze:

Let your voice be heard.
Let yourself be seen.
I am sending you.
Into a world falling apart.
To anoint,
To heal,
To love
To speak my truth.
With words that I will give you.

Do not be afraid.
Come out of the cave.
I am with you to protect you.

(by Annemarie Paulin-Campbell)

Read the poem a few times and see if there is a word or phrase that strikes you.

Stay with it - letting it settle in your spirit.

Talk with God or Jesus about it or just rest in the grace given to you.

PRAYER FOR OTHERS

Take a moment now to bring to mind those you love who most need prayer at this time. Hold them in the light of God’s loving gaze. Now release them into God’s care this night.

We pray for women who feel bent-over by their life circumstances and the effects of patriarchy.

For women who live with the fear of violence whether by strangers or by their intimate partner. And for women who live with the trauma of having experienced r**e or abuse.

For single mothers facing financial pressures.

For women in countries where they are denied rights to education and freedom of movement.

We pray for those who are without hope and who cannot see the point in continuing. May they encounter others who give them a sense of their own value and worth.

We pray:

God help me to believe the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it may be. (Macrina Wiederkehr).

AMEN.

08/08/2026

[17:54, 08/08/2026] Jenny Tuckett: 8 AUGUST 2026 EVENING PRAYER
FEAST OF ST DOMINIC

Welcome into this space.
May silence enfold you
as you pause to become attentive
To the movement of God’s Spirit within.

Gently look back with God over the day that has passed. Notice the blessings and gifts; the surprises. The moments where you responded generously to God’s nudges. Rejoice with God at seeing where there was an increase in faith, hope or love.

Notice too the moments when you struggled, where you felt isolated or overwhelmed - where things didn’t flow so easily. Moments where you may have felt frustrated or stressed. Gently bring those moments to God asking for God’s healing touch.

When you are ready, read the following reflection a few times and let it soak into your being.

“The Spirit, Hildegard of Bingen writes, is the life of the life of all creatures; the way in which everything is pe*****ted with connectedness and relatedness; a burning fire who sparks, ignites, inflames, kindles hearts; a guide in the fog; a balm for wounds; a shining serenity; an overflowing fountain that spreads to all sides.

The Spirit is life, movement, color, radiance, restorative stillness in the din. The Spirit pours the juice of contrition into hardened hearts; makes dry twigs and withered souls green again with the juice of life; purifies, absolves, strengthens, heals, gathers the perplexed, seeks the lost.

The Spirit plays music in the soul; awakens mighty hope, blowing everywhere the winds of renewal in creation.“

###

Dominican Blessing Prayer

May God the Father bless us.
May God the Son heal us.
May God the Holy Spirit enlighten us,
and give us
eyes to see with,
ears to hear with,
hands to do the work of God with,
feet to walk with,
a mouth to preach the word of salvation with,
and the angel of peace to watch over us and lead us at last,
by our Lord's gift, to the Kingdom.

Amen.
[18:12, 08/08/2026] +27 81 863 9990: Greetings dear Saints. I am looking forward to worship with you tomorrow.

Please note that we have been experiencing power issues and a call has been logged with City power. So we will continue with the service even when there is no power.

04/08/2026

ENTERING INTO PRAYER

Feel yourself invited into this moment of prayer by the One who yearns for you and has been waiting and longing to spend this time with you.

REFLECTING ON THE DAY

Look back with God over the day that has passed.

-What have been the moments that have felt especially graced? Savour these.
-What have been the moments of struggle where it has been more difficult to sense God’s presence? A moment of regret perhaps.

Hold both your moment of connection and grace and your moment of struggle or regret and place them in God’s hands.

###xx

WORDS OF HOPE

LAZARUS BLESSING

The secret
of this blessing
is that it is written
on the back
of what binds you.

To read
this blessing,
you must take hold
of the end
of what
confines you,
must begin to tug
at the edge
of what wraps
you round.

It may take long
and long
for its length
to fall away,
for the words
of this blessing
to unwind
in folds
about your feet.

By then
you will no longer
need them.

By then this blessing
will have pressed itself
into your waking flesh,
will have passed
into your bones,
will have traveled
every vein

until it comes to rest
inside the chambers
of your heart
that beats to
the rhythm
of benediction

and the cadence
of release.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

X###

-Read the poem slowly a few times.

Stay with whatever touches you allowing it to settle within you.

Talk with God about it or just rest in the grace given:

###

PRAYER FOR OTHERS

Think of someone you encountered or heard about today who is struggling and bring them in prayer to God asking God to be close to them.

Think of someone you are grateful for and thank God for the gift they are in your life right now.

Call to mind a situation in the country or the world that weighs on your heart and ask God if there is anything God wants you to do or to pray for in relation to it.

BLESSING

At the end of this day may the Lord grant us a quiet night. And the peace that only God can give. AMEN.

(Image by Picasa)

03/08/2026

3 August 2026 EVENING PRAYER

Enter gently into this moment of prayer.
Notice how you are now.
Open your heart.
Soften your body.
Become aware of God’s loving gaze resting gently on you.
On us.
Open your heart to receive
From the One
who waits;
who knows;
who hears.
And who will not be outdone in generosity.

When you are ready I invite you to pray with this scripture text.

A LIGHT FOR THE NATIONS

Isaiah: 49

Listen, far-flung islands,
pay attention, faraway people:
God put me to work from the day I was born.
The moment I entered the world he named me.
He gave me speech that would cut and pe*****te.
He kept his hand on me to protect me.
He made me his straight arrow
and hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You’re my dear servant,
Israel, through whom I’ll shine.”

But I said, “I’ve worked for nothing.
I’ve nothing to show for a life of hard work.
Nevertheless, I’ll let God have the last word.
I’ll let him pronounce his verdict.”

“And now,” God says,
this God who took me in hand
from the moment of birth to be his servant,
To bring Jacob back home to him,
to set a reunion for Israel—
What an honor for me in God’s eyes!
That God should be my strength!
He says, “But that’s not a big enough job for my servant—
just to recover the tribes of Jacob,
merely to round up the strays of Israel.
I’m setting you up as a light for the nations
so that my salvation becomes global!”

God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel,
says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations,
slave labor to the ruling class:
“Kings will see, get to their feet—the princes, too—
and then fall on their faces in homage
Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word,
The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you.”

A PRAYER FOR THIS NIGHT

God be with us this night.
Give us your wisdom.
Your love.
Your strength.
In this time of such great
conflict and injustice.
Make us instruments of your peace.
Help us build a just society for all.

We pray for a peaceful night’s rest that we may awaken with renewed energy and hope to work to bring about a new reality in our world.

Amen.

02/08/2026

2 AUGUST 2026

Welcome into this moment.
Take time to breathe.

Become aware of God’s loving gaze resting gently on you. How does it feel to rest in that loving look? Take your time and just soak in it.

In a world that is burdened by the grief and uncertainty of war we ask for the grace of entrusting ourselves in this moment to God’s holding.

###

When you are ready you may like to pray with these words:

lately, when I need to pray

I go to the church that
has no doors

and where the walls are
made of carved granite

I sit under its moving roof
on a pew that smells
like fresh pine

and fold my hands quietly
until God joins me ~

here in this most ancient of churches,
I watch a dozen fat rainbow angel dressed
as trout dance in the baptismal font

and wonder out loud:

“when will I too,
be made anew?”

there is a special kind of holy quiet here
that rings much louder than any fat
church bell I have ever known

and the silence often rattles my ribs ~

it’s choir loft is high up in a birds nest
and it’s confessional is a breeze
that asks me to speak my sins

and I do, and then they are carried away ~

the longer I sing psalms in this church
the shorter my memory for all of
my past mistakes become

and that is when I hear
the Voice of Love speak

“oh tired light, oh wounded heart,
oh my child of crumbling grace,
come plant your feet in this Eden,
come rest in this sacred space

oh weary traveler, oh somber fire,
oh shaking heart that is prone to fear,
come lay in My ribboned water
come to fully know that I’m right here

oh wilting daisy, oh dying star
oh broken song that needs a name,
come sit with Me among the wild,
and then you’ll never be the same “

God and I take turns
saying all we need to say
to each other

I speak in short heavy jagged breaths
and the Divine replies in thin long pauses

this goes on until the sun begins to set ~

that’s when it’s time to leave
and even though I go home
I’m always still there

in the antiquated church
of trees and valleys

where foxes are lectors
where horizons are steeples
where clouds are vestibules
where campfires are incense
where time is a gospel
where the great flow is a sacrament
where forests are community

where a little piece of me always still remains talking to the voice
of whispering Love as I watch trout
become slain in the spirit

and I can’t stop marveling
at the altar of creation

~ john roedel

###

Holy Spirit, make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace: in our hearts, our families, our communities, and our cities. May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation, and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world. (Pope Leo).

Amen.

30/07/2026

30th JULY
EVE OF THE FEAST OF ST IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

Take some time to settle into this time of prayer.

Allow God to bring to mind the gifts and blessings of your life at the moment. Let them pour over you like the waters of a fountain or the rays of the sun. Feel the gratitude which comes as you allow yourself to be in touch with the lavishness of God’s love for you.

Don’t rush. Take your time.

When you are ready here are some words to pray with.

WORDS FROM THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST IGNATIUS
(Translation Bergan and Schwan)

Lord my God,
when Your love
spilled over
into creation
You thought of me.
I am from love of love for love.
Let my heart O God always
recognise,
cherish,
and enjoy your
goodness in all of Creation.
Direct all that is me toward your praise.
Teach me reverence for every person,
all things.
energize me in your service.
Lord God
May nothing ever
distract me from your love…
Neither health nor sickness,
wealth nor poverty
honour nor dishonour
long life nor short life.
May I never seek
nor choose to be other than you intend or wish.

-Read the text slowly two or three times.
-Notice what word or phrase draws you
-Stay with it and have a conversation with God or just sit with God with the feeling it stirs in you.

A PRAYER FOR THIS NIGHT

Holding with deep gratitude all God’s gifts and blessings we pray:

Take Lord receive,
all of my being,
My memory, understanding, my entire will.
All is yours Lord,
I return it to you.
Give me only your love
and your grace,
That is enough for me.

Amen.

24/07/2026

EVENING PRAYER 24 July

Take some precious moments to allow yourself to just ‘be’ at the end of what may have been a busy day. To be with the One who knows and loves you completely.
No matter what the day has held - gifts and challenges - it is time now to entrust it all to God so that you can rest.

As you release the day what are you most grateful for? Take a few moments to give thanks.

When you are ready you may like to take some time to pray with this prayer poem.

How to Feel the Sap Rising

Walk as slowly as possible,

all the while imagining

yourself moving through

pools of honey and dancing with

snails, turtles, and caterpillars.

Turn your body in a sunwise direction

to inspire your dreams to flow upward.

Imagine the trees are your own

wise ancestors offering their emerald

leaves to you as a sacred text.

Lay yourself down across earth

and stones. Feel the vibration of

dirt and moss, sparking a tiny

(or tremendous)

revolution in your heart

with their own great longing.

Close your eyes and forget this

border of skin. Imagine the

breeze blowing through your hair

is the breath of the forest and

your own breath joined, rising and

falling in ancient rhythms.

Open your eyes again and see it

is true, that there is no “me” and “tree”

one sap which nourishes and

enlivens all, one great nectar

bestowing trust and wonder.

Open your eyes and see that there

are no more words like beautiful,

and ugly, good and bad,

but only the shimmering presence of your

own attention to life.

Only one great miracle unfolding and

only one sacred word which is

yes.

From: “The Soul of a Pilgrim: by Christine Valters Paintner.”

-Read it slowly a few times.
- See what touches your spirit.
- Remain with it for a little while speaking with God about it and listening for his response or just being with God and what has been stirred in you.

PRAYER FOR OTHERS

As you sit with God is there a person or a situation that is on your mind or heart.
Bring that person or situation to God now.

And for all those who take part in these prayers - holding each other and our many different situations and needs before the One who loves us totally.

CLOSING BLESSING

May you sense God’s presence close this night.
May it bring you peace and deep rest.
May you awaken refreshed and renewed
to the gifts of the day that lies ahead.

AMEN.

21/07/2026

o Christ our Lord

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.

By Gerard Manley Hopkins

(written by him when he was a Jesuit student at St Beuno’s where I am now.)

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