Summer Break

In this episode, Jess gives an update on our summer plans and shares a prayer Paul Coulter has written which seeks to recapture the original meaning of the words we use for breaks from work and which echoes well-known words from Psalm 51:10-12. We invite you to make it part of your daily prayers during your summer break, however big or small.

Here it is:

Father, You are the giver of every good gift and I am your finite creation and beloved child. I receive the gift of days without work as a good gift from you. Free me from false guilt and help me to make the most of this time. May my ‘holiday’ be a sequence of holy days, encountering and enjoying you. In my ‘leave’, may I abandon burdens I was not made to carry and rejoice in you and your creation. In my ‘vacation’, help me to be unoccupied with work and its stresses. In my ‘break’, fracture the grip of unhealthy attitudes and patterns in my life. May my ‘days off’ be unhurried days of delight in those closest to me. Recreate in me a clean heart during this time. Refashion my rhythms in tune with your heart. Restore my joy in your salvation. Renew a right spirit in me that honours you in rest and in work. Refresh my love for you and others. May I live each day without work aware of your presence and alive by your Holy Spirit, Through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.