PRAYER

Prayer Chain

If you have a prayer need during the week, there is a small team of dedicated people who are ready and willing to pray. Please call Nancy Wood at 905-852-9024 or e-mail Robin Dhillon at lionroar@sympatico.ca, and your prayer request will be communicated through this prayer chain. Your prayer request remains confidential within the prayer chain unless you specify otherwise.

Prayer Team

Members of the prayer team are also available to pray for you in person downstairs in the Rev. James A. Mills chapel directly after the worship service. They wear special name tags so that you can be sure who they are.

St. Patrick's Breastplate (sing or read aloud...)
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever,
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity.
By invocation of the same, 
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

This translation by Cecil Frances Alexander is found in our hymn book, Voices United, hymns 317 and 318 (the italicized part has a different tune; both tunes are beautiful ancient Irish hymn melodies...) St. Patrick had a long life spanning the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. He was born in England on the west coast to a Christian family, but he was not particularly religious before his capture, at age 16, by slave raiders who then sold him into slavery in Ireland. He managed to escape at age 22 and returned home to his family. When he was about 30, his faith enlivened and matured, he obeyed God's call to return to Ireland with all the message and power of his lord and saviour, Jesus Christ. This turned out to be quite a venture, filled with danger and excitement, but at the time of his death, Ireland was in fact almost entirely Christian, and of course he is now that nation's patron saint...