Church groups across Scotland are asking Christians to join in prayer at 7pm on 26th April 2020.

This is now the fifth week of joint calls by Scottish churches to pray at the same time in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"As we continue to journey through this challenging time, we are conscious that the course of our journey will take us to different places. At some points, we will have greater clarity as to where that journey is taking us. At other points, we will be less sure. The two disciples who left Jerusalem to journey to Emmaus were definitely in the latter category. (Luke 24: 13-35) As they journey, they try to make sense of all that they are currently experiencing and, in truth, they are finding it difficult. It is as if the source of their hope has gone. Unexpectedly, they then find themselves in the presence of someone whom they do not recognise. The unrecognised presence listens to their story and, having listened, begins to offer a new way of understanding that story. As they come towards the end of their journey, the unrecognised is revealed as the risen Lord: 'The Lord has risen indeed'! The Lord is always with us on our journey and so we pray:'"

Churches Together In England will also be continuing to pray each Sunday at 7pm and will be using the #prayersofhope to share the message on social media.

A Gaelic version of the statement and the prayer can be found here

We offer a prayer at this time:

We pray:

Lord, we are those who journey
And who find that journey hard today.
We are those who journey
And long to find our hope renewed.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, whether in our own company or with companions beside us,
We journey on.
Whether sure, or unsure, as to our journey's end,
Come beside us through the risen Lord.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for others;
For carers of the living and of the dying;
For the bereaved and for the anxious;
For those fearing loss of work and of business.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for scientists and researchers;
For those seeking to understand the challenge we face;
For those creating potential vaccines;
For those advising decision-makers.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord, we pray for those who shape our common life:
In local Councils and in Scottish Government
And in the Government of the United Kingdom.
Grant to them wisdom, compassion and understanding.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for your Kingdom to come
And for your will to be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Lord in your mercy,

Hear our prayer, Amen

Signed by:

Rt. Rev. Colin Sinclair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland

Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church

Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church

Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland

Rev. Dr David Pickering, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)

Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland

Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)

Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland

Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army

Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene

Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God

Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)

Church groups across Scotland are asking Christians to join in prayer at 7pm on 19th April 2020.

A joint statement from Christian organisations across Scotland says:

"As we find ourselves living through a renewed phase of Lockdown, we see in the Gospel of John (20: 19-23) that, in part, the experience of the disciples, even on the day of Resurrection, was one in which they found themselves locked in and behind closed doors.

Their experience of Lockdown was interrupted by the presence of Jesus as he came and stood among them. He speaks into the depths of their fears and anxieties: 'Peace be with you.' We hear these words and know that they speak to us. We listen again for what he will say and discover that Jesus simply repeats himself: 'Peace be with you.' As we still ourselves, we hear those words of peace spoken and sense that they are spoken to us and to all who long to hear a word that heals and reassures: 'Peace be with you.'"

We offer a prayer at this time:

Churches Together In England will also be continuing to pray each Sunday at 7pm and will be using the #prayersofhope to share the message on social media.

We pray:

Living God, speak into the depths of our experience,
Speak the word that stills our fears
And calms our anxieties:
'Peace be with you.'
Speak your word to the lonely and to the broken,
To the bereaved and to those whose world has crumbled:
'Peace be with you.'

Faithful God, speak to us behind locked doors
As we remember others, who risk their own safety,
In order to serve others:
Peace be with them.
Carers and nurses, doctors and ambulance drivers,
Delivery drivers and shop assistants:
Peace be with them.

God who inspires Hope, speak to us in the present
And speak to us of the future,
For though the doors are locked, in time they shall be open:
Peace shall be renewed.
For those who lead the life of our Nation: Our Queen Elizabeth,
First Minister and Prime Minister, and all who shape our common life,
For us all: Peace shall be renewed.

God whose name is love and whose gift is love,
Open our hearts to know you and to love you,
To love you and to love our neighbour
And as we do, to hear again: 'Peace be with you.'
As we come to the end of our own strength
May we find our strength in you and hear again:
'Peace be with you.'

Signed by:

Rt. Rev. Colin Sinclair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland

Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church

Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church

Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland

Rev. Dr David Pickering, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)

Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland

Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)

Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland

Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army

Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene

Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God

Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)

Rev. Donald G. MacDonald, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland

Church groups across Scotland are asking Christians to join in prayer at 7pm on Palm Sunday.

A joint statement from 13 Christian organisations across Scotland says:

"As we continue to live through this time of trial, we sense an ever renewed Call to Prayer. We are not alone in hearing this call. Rather, it is a Call being heard and responded to across the nations of our island and across the nations of our world. This being so, we invite you to pray in solidarity with others at 7pm on Sunday 5th April, which is Palm Sunday. We offer a prayer at this time:"

A version in Gaelic is also available.

Churches Together In England will also be continuing to pray each Sunday at 7pm and will be using the #prayersofhope to share the message on social media.

We offer a prayer at this time:

Living God, for the precious gift of life that you have given to us,
We give you thanks.
For the enduring presence of your love in this world,
We give you thanks.
For the knowledge that you are with us at the close of the day,
We give you thanks.

On this day, we hear the Gospel words that speak of hope,
We hear the cry: Hosanna!
We hear the Gospel words that speak of promise,
We hear the cry: Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
On this day, we journey in hope as we trust in your promise.

Lord, as we journey into the Holy Week to come,
We are conscious that we share in the life of the world.
We are conscious of the presence of those who are near to us,
And of those from whom we are apart.
Whether near, or far, embrace us all in your love.

Lord, we are conscious of others,
Whose life and work is woven into the fabric of our society,
And upon whom we now depend.
We pray for them:

For delivery drivers and posties,
For bin men and cleaners,
For police officers and care workers,
Protect them and keep them safe.

For nurses and doctors,
For scientists and surgeons,
For midwives and ambulance drivers,
Protect them and watch over them.

For those who govern on our behalf,
For those who make decisions that impact upon us all,
For all who shape our common life,
Protect them and increase their wisdom and understanding.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
And grant us faith to journey into the week to come,
Assured of the presence of the crucified and risen Lord,
Jesus Christ. Amen.

Signed by:

Rt. Rev. Colin Sinclair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
Rev. Dr David Pickering, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)