Pftd: Wittenberg 2024

six mornings next week (saturday 27th and monday 29th to friday 3rd), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4 

prayer for the day by rabbi jonathan wittenberg 

1. “May our hearts always be open to wonder.”

2. “May we all be granted a pure heart and steadfast spirit.”

3. “Please God, can this be a world where ‘they neither hate nor destroy’.”

4. “May our hearts be opened to hear those melodies.”

5. “May we, too, recognise our shared humanity, and fine the courage to care.”

6. “May we, too, hear the spirit of compassion in our hearts and in all life.”

(transcripts already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yj85)

Pftd: Neuberger 2024

six mornings this week (saturday 20th and monday 22nd to friday 26th), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4 

prayer for the day by rabbi julia neuberger

1. “Let us remember Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and all others who changed our world for the better, however hard it was for them to do so.”

2. “Let us give thanks for wonderful relationships.”

3. “Let us each resolve to do just one thing that makes one individual feel fully recognised, special, unique, God’s creation, and needing our care.”

4. “Let us learn from their poor outcomes to celebrate what we have, give thanks each day for the good things, and help those people who lack them to acquire them, so that they too can find contentment.”

5. “Let’s each stop for one moment and look at one thing- a tree, an animal, a flower, a plant- and focus on it as if we were seeing it for the first – or last – time.”

6. “Teach us to learn from Sgt Edmonds’ example. We are all human, whoever we are, and whatever our origins. But sometimes it takes courage to lead others in showing that humanity.”

(transcripts already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vc0w)

Pftd: Christmas Elf 2023

six mornings this week (saturday 16th and monday 18th to friday 22nd), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4 

prayer for the day by rabbi warren elf 

1. “Give me strength to continue to work for justice, freedom and peace. May courage match convictions and integrity match hope, so that the right to protest brings blessings for the future.”

2. “Where people differ, let people wonder at human freedom; in their unity and their differences, may people be blessed by the uniqueness that is God. May this bring us closer to each other and blessing for the future.”

3. “that joy is spread today and every day.”

4. “Let the Psalmist’s hope be fulfilled: ‘God will champion the cause of the poor and do justice to those in need’.”

5. “That I may have the strength and vision to match their ideals and the responsibility to take care of our world for their future.”

6. “That we learn from each other and with each other to overcome prejudice and anger, hatred and fear, so that we may learn to live side by side in peace and harmony.”

(transcripts already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001t9z1)

Pftd: Wittenberg 2023

six mornings this week (saturday 9th and monday 11th to friday 15th), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4 

prayer for the day by rabbi jonathan wittenberg 

1. “Help us to bring that love down to earth, and make it real in the tasks that lie ahead of us today.”

2. “That in some way, all of us can be healers amidst the world’s great wounds.”

3. “May the shofar sound for all life, heralding a year which carries us from sorrow to joy.”

4. “That however lonely life’s path, we try to walk side by side, and where the way is too steep and narrow, we reach out a hand from before or behind, and give each other the courage to keep going.”

5. “May we too serve faithfully.”

6. “May the old year and its curses end, the new year and its blessings begin. May we be the instruments of those blessings.”

(transcripts already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001q6qr)

Pftd: Romain 2023

six mornings this week (saturday 27th and monday 29th to friday 2nd), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4 

prayer for the day by rabbi jonathan romain 

1. “To make changes in our lives when we suddenly realise we need to do so, and the moment has come”

2. “That we can work towards religious peace and then peace in society as a whole.”

3. “Help us tackle the various challenges we face.”

4. “Thank God for the companionship we can find either in local people or in pets who can help us enjoy the world around us.”

5. “Thank you God for the gift of life and for being able to glimpse various parts of you.”

6. “To use our talent for good as much as we can, whatever it may be, and to fulfil our own unique potential.”

(transcripts already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001m55s)

Pftd: Elf 1-7/9/2022

every morning next week (saturday 1st and monday 3rd to friday 7th), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4

prayer for the day, by rabbi warren elf

1. “That You help us to resolve to be the best people we can be, and to try to help make our world a better place.”

2. “Spread Your shelter of peace over all dwellers on earth, over all lands and peoples affected by war or fear of war, bringing calm to conflict and peace of mind to all who live in fear.”

3. “God, help us today and every day to be self-aware, to recognise and work to realise our potential, our ability to make a difference in this world. Help us to be the best we can be and honest in our dealings with others. With Your help, may we find the strength, insight and integrity to be true to You too.”

4. “God, whose work is awesome, help us to forgiveness as the Gates of Mercy close. And help all of your creation to find our path to fulfilment and a future where we can live together in a safe, healthy and peaceful world.”

5. “Heal us, God, and we shall be healed; save us, and we shall be saved; for it is You we praise. Send relief and healing for all our diseases, our sufferings and our wounds; for You are a merciful and faithful healer.”

6. “Eternal God, help us to smile today and every day. Help us to do acts of random kindness that will encourage others to smile as well. And at times when we are struggling, we pray that others smile at us and do things that help us smile. Teach us to worry less and to smile more.”

(already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001cf6z)

Pftd: Wittenberg 27/8-2/9/2021

every morning this week (saturday 27th and monday 29th to friday 2nd), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4

prayer for the day, by rabbi jonathan wittenberg

1. “That we open our hearts to cherish all life.”

2. “God, may your call reach our hearts.”

3. “”

4. “May their memory be for a blessing.”

5. “Help turn our power to destroy into the will to protect and create.”

6. “God, give us the determination to bring the world the healing and comfort it so desperately needs.”

(already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bcq1)

Pftd: Cottrell 29/7/2022

friday 29th july, 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4

prayer for the day, by archbisop stephen cottrell 

“… the fact is the Palestinian Christians in the occupied territories do face persecution …”

(if you missed it, available with transcript at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0019klb)

Pftd: Fife 30/4/2022

yesterday morning (saturday 30th), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4

prayer for the day, by rev janet fife 

“It’s human nature to suspect or dislike people who seem different from us.

Anne Frank shows us that our differences are not so great after all.”

Pftd: Neuberger 2022

six mornings next week (saturday 22nd, and monday 24th to friday 28th), 5.43-5.45am, on bbc radio 4 

prayer for the day by rabbi julia neuberger 

1. “All of us creatures need time off, a day- or more- of rest. It re-energises us and it relaxes us. Shabbat shalom, and rest well. Take that day off, if not more, and celebrate it. It’s a wonderful thing.”

2. “We should remember those who pressed for moderation, and stopped the desire to kill those whose religious beliefs were different from their own. May we celebrate their memory, and hold up their example as a lesson to us all.”

3. “You… must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt … That’s the rule. Let’s heed that commandment and take action. May this be God’s will.”

4. “Chazak, chazak, ve nitchazek. Be strong, be strong, let us strengthen one another. Strength comes from both knowledge and understanding. Let us pursue both with open hearts.”

5. “Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, when we remember all those who were murdered so brutally, Jews, Sinti, Gays, Communists, and many more … As we remember those who were murdered, let us also remember those who helped and tried to help. There is good in the world alongside evil. Let us choose good.”

6. “We must apply our God given minds to arresting climate change, and, where possible, preventing its worst effects. … I think the tsunami that engulfed Tonga in ash has strengthened our will. I pray it has and that us taking action is God’s will.”

(transcripts already available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013jd4)