Daily Office for Our Times

Common Prayer

Redeeming the Soul of the World Through Love and Prayer

Noonday Prayer

No Parish Selected
Using Common Prayer

First Monday of Advent

Theme for Monday: Creation

With awe and delight in the wonders of creation we worship God, and pray for a just and sustainable use of all its riches and for those engaged in environmental care and protection.

The Invocation

Eternal Spirit, flow through our being and open our lips.
that our mouths shall proclaim your praise.

All Glory to the Loving One, Source of our being, Eternal Word, and Life-Giving Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Psalm

Psalm 19:1-6;14 Cæli enarrant

The heavens declare your glory, O God,*

and the firmament shows your handiwork.

One day tells its tale to another,*

and one night imparts knowledge to another.

Although they have no words or language,*

and their voices are not heard,

Their sound has gone out into all lands,*

and their message to the ends of the world.

In the deep you have set a pavilion for the sun;*

it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber; it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens and runs about to the end of it again;*

nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,*

O God, my strength and my redeemer.

All Glory to the Loving One, Source of our being, Eternal Word, and Life-Giving Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Scripture for Noonday

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:1-5

Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people.
Amen. All that the Lord has said we will do.

The Prayers

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

Father and Mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.

Lord, hear our prayer;
And let our cry come to you.
Let us pray.

Collect for Creation

Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order: its atoms, its galaxies, and its infinite complexity of living creatures. As we probe the mysteries of creation, help us to know you more truly and more faithfully fulfill our role as stewards of creation in your eternal purpose; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect for Monday

God of infinite blessing, when you fashioned the world the morning stars sang together and the host of heaven shouted for joy: open our eyes to the wonders of your creation and teach us to use all things for good, that we may be blessed and be a blessing so that all may live in your abundance; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And we pray for our own needs and the needs of others.

Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Go in beauty to love and enjoy the Lord.
Thanks be to God

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Acknowledgements: With Gratitude

Pray for Peace, Work for Justice.

This Daily Office App was created in 2020 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue, MO, as a partial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. Because of the pandemic we and many congregations began offering online variations of the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer. George Floyd's murder brought into sharp relief the racism and many other injustices in our world. We believe it is pointless to pray for peace unless we are actively working for justice in all spheres of our daily lives.

Within our congregation we have many people such as, medical personnel and teachers, who are putting their lives at risk to help create a better world. We also have numerous parishioners employed or engaged in not-for-profit agencies, research, and outreach all of which are striving to right the wrongs of our society and in the words of the Lord's Prayer, "helping God's Kingdom come on earth". To focus our need to engage in social action we have created this Daily Office with a two week cycle of social justice themes to help us:

Pray and reflect on our part in the systemic evils that corupt our world.
Pray intentionally for parishioners and the programs they work in to "Heal the World."
Pray for courage and wisdom to discover and empower us to be the change we wish to see in the world.

The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and its many companion books through out the Anglican Communion are wonderful treasure troves of prayers and resources for deepening our spiritual lives and inspiring action in the world. Such books are however are a frozen meal, they need thawing out, warming up, and seasoning with local spices. This is what this app seeks to do. It added the necessary flavors of St. Peter's, Ladue, so whether at home, in church, or travelling the world, we can continue to remember and pray for one another as we walk the way of love and make this a better world in which our children's children can love and grow into the image of God that God creates them to be.

If you would like to adapt this app for your own congregation or community setting and add your own spices and flavors please email us and we can create a specific parish option for you.

Specific Acknowledgements and Copyrights.

The service structure and the traditional psalms canticles and prayers are taken from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, 1979, available from The Church Hymnal Corporation, New York. Inclusive canticles and prayers have been adapted from a variety of sources including Enriching our Worship, 1998 also available from The Church Hymnal Corporation, New York.

Specific prayers such as the Inclusive Lord’s Prayer has been taken from A New Zealand Prayerbook, ©Copyright 1989 the Church of the Province of New Zealand. This prayerbook has also provided inspiration for the inclusive Compline service and partial content to many of the collects.

In general, Biblical passages are taken from The New Revised Standard Version, ©Copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We are also indebted to The Rev. Br. Richard Edward Helmer, BSG. the developer of the The Daily Office App who provided technical advice and resources as we developed this app.

We are also indebted to Sandie Willey and her gift of words and discerning eye as together we crafted many of the prayers as we worked to create this Daily Office for Our Times.

In the course of preparing this app we have visited many websites, read and prayed many prayers, and been inspired by many writers. To all the people who share their creativity with the world we say thank you for the beauty of your words and the times when a word becomes a sparkle of truth and a moment of transcendence.

With Gratitude
Rob Voyle,
Interim Rector, St. Peter's, 2020
Director of the Appreciative Way