Morning Prayer with Daily Office Network Live Community
We are a community of Christians who meet online for morning prayer. This gathering is hosted by Father Tom Roy, the Vicar of the Daily Office Network. It is attended by people from the United States and around the world. We have live prayer M-F at "Dailyoffice.wordpress.com" We have been presenting Morning Prayer online since 2006. All are welcome here.
Morning Prayer with Daily Office Network Live Community
Morning Prayer for Thursday April 30, 2026
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Good morning and welcome. I'm Father Tom Royd, the Vicar of the Daily Office Network. I'm an ordained priest in the Diocese of Minnesota and the Episcopal Church. The Daily Office Network is a community of Christians who gather together on a daily basis Monday through Friday to pray morning at prayer at 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Eastern time. We use the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer as our guide. We mix in artwork. We have a news story, music at the end. All are welcome here where we do our best to exercise tolerance and decency with one another. Now let's settle in and begin morning prayer. Today is the last day of April. It is the 30th. In the life of the church, it is a Thursday in the fourth week of Easter. The Daily Office Network is podcasting. You can find us on Apple or Spotify by searching Daily Office Network as your keywords, or click on one of the links on our homepage. Let's begin. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with Moses there and proclaimed the name, the Lord. That's the governor of Virginia, Abigail Spainberger. She signed another batch of legislation into Virginia law. The most recent bills are focusing on gun violence, safety, and supporting law enforcement, according to a news release from her office. As a formal federal law enforcement officer and someone who comes from a law enforcement family, public safety is personal to me, said Governor Spainberger. We're taking concrete steps to make sure Virginia's law enforcement has the support they need to keep our communities safe. Preventing gun violence is an issue of public safety, both for the officers who protect our streets and the children and families they work to keep safe, the governor said. Whether you're a first responder or a survivor seeking justice, these laws reflect a simple commitment to the commitment of Virginia, to the commonwealth of Virginia, and we'll always have your back. There's a story link there. It's a lengthy story. There are multiple bills, but it looks like it's a step in the right direction. On this day, the Lord has acted. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Addie, would you lead us in the invitatory in the Psalter this morning?
SPEAKER_02Lord, open our lips.
SPEAKER_01And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
SPEAKER_02Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the peace. Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Hallelujah. Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. The death that he died he died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So also consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God and Jesus Christ our Lord. Hallelujah. Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Eddie. Our psalm appointed for this morning is Psalm number 50. And I'm going to ask Martha and Jill to lead our psalm. Martha, would you start?
SPEAKER_03The Lord, the God of God's, has spoken and has called the light from the rising of the sun to its setting.
SPEAKER_11Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God shines forth in glory.
SPEAKER_03Our God will come and will not keep silence. Before God, there is a consuming flame and run about a raging stone.
SPEAKER_11God calls the heavens and the earth from above to witness the judgment of the chosen people. Let the heavens declare the rightness of God's cause, for it is God who is judged.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, O my people, and I will speak. O Ishrael, I will bear witness against you. For I am God your God.
SPEAKER_11I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices. Your offerings are always before me.
SPEAKER_03I will take no bull card from your stalls, no heat goods out of your tents.
SPEAKER_11For all the beasts of the forest are mine, the herds and their thousands upon the hills.
SPEAKER_03I know every bird in the sky. And the creatures of the fields are in my sight.
SPEAKER_11If I were hungry, I would not tell you.
SPEAKER_03Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls? Or drink the blood of goats?
SPEAKER_11Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and make your vows to the Most High. But to the wicked God says, Why do you recite my statutes and take my covenant upon your lips?
SPEAKER_03Since you refuse discipline and toss my voice behind your back.
SPEAKER_11When you see thieves, you make them your friends, and you cast in your lot with adulterers.
SPEAKER_03You have loose your lip for evil.
SPEAKER_11You are always speaking evil of your kin and slandering your own flesh and blood.
SPEAKER_03And you thought I am like you.
SPEAKER_11I have made my accusation. I have put my case in order before your eyes.
SPEAKER_03Consider this well for you who forget God. Lest I render you and there be none to deliver you.
SPEAKER_11Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me. But to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God.
SPEAKER_03Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Thank you, Jill and Martha. Hebrew characters, the Lord's holy name in Hebrew. Chad, would you lead this?
SPEAKER_00The Lord said to Moses, Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to me on top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout all the mountain, and do not let flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain. So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hands the two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. He said, If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for your inheritance. He said, I hereby make a covenant before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation, and all the people among whom you shall live shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you. You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles, for you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous god. You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice, and you will and you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods. You shall not make cast idols. The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01Thanks be to God. Thank you, Chen. Our first canticle is a song of wisdom. Mother Angel, would you lead this?
SPEAKER_06Wisdom freed from a nation of oppressors, a holy people and a blameless race. She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord with dread rulers with wonders and signs. To the saints she gave the reward of their labors and led them by a marvelous way. She was their shelter by day and a blaze of stars by night. She brought them across the Red Sea. She led them through the mighty waters, but their enemies she swallowed in the waves and spewed them out from the depths of the abyss. And then, Lord the righteous sang hymns to your name, and praised with one voice your protecting hand. For wisdom opened the mouths of the mute and gave speech to the tongues of a newborn people.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Mother Angel. Protesting anti-Christian persecution at Sacred Heart Church in New Delhi, India in twenty fourteen. Paul, would you lead this?
SPEAKER_07We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a hand, not as a human word, but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers. For you brothers and sisters became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots, as they did not from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They displease God and oppose everyone by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles, so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins, but God's wrath has overtaken them at last. As for us, brothers and sisters, when for a short time we were made orphans by being separated from you in person, not in heart, we longed with great eagerness to see your face to see you face to face, for we wanted to come to you. Certainly I, Paul, wanted wanted to again and again, but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Yes, you are our glory and joy. The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01Thanks be to God. Thank you, Paul. Our second canticle is a song of true motherhood. Mother Angel.
SPEAKER_06Most humbly and most pure in the Virgin's womb. God's the perfect wisdom of all. Alright, have something this humble place. Christ came in on a poor flesh. To share a mother's cam. Christ carried us within him in love and truth in until the full time of his passion. And when all was completed, and he had carried us in the full joy. Still love his good nights and his fine. The power of his wonderful love. Oh that we always redeemed in truly loving God. For the love of Christ works in us.
SPEAKER_01A painting by an artist you recognize now, Hai Chi. This one is entitled, Leave Your Gift and Go. Deacon Elizabeth, would you lead this?
SPEAKER_08Sure. Jesus said, You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, you shall not murder, and whoever murders shall be liable to judgment. But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you'll be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you'll be liable to the counsel. And if you say, you fool, you'll be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering a gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first, be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with the accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge and the judge the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. The word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01Thanks be to God. Thank you, Deacon. And now the apostle's creed. Marcia, would you lead us in the creed?
SPEAKER_04I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son or Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pile, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again, he ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen. And now the prayers begin with our Lord's Prayer. Carol, would you lead us in the Lord's Prayer? And then we'll read the suffrages.
SPEAKER_10The Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_01And also with you.
SPEAKER_10Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
SPEAKER_10Govern and uphold them now and always.
SPEAKER_01Day by day we bless you.
SPEAKER_10We praise your name forever.
SPEAKER_01Lord, keep us from all sin today.
SPEAKER_10Have mercy on us, Lord. Have mercy.
SPEAKER_01Lord, show us your love and mercy.
SPEAKER_10For we put our trust in you.
SPEAKER_01In you, Lord, is our hope.
SPEAKER_10And we shall never hope in vain.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Carol. I've been sharing some pictures this week that our congregate Katrina Soto has sent us. And this is another one. This one is beautiful. Sits on her, I believe she said her side yard. These are this is aloe in bloom. I've never seen aloe bloom. I've seen aloe plants before, but I've never seen it blooming like this. It's quite beautiful. Now two prayers, the collect of the day for the fourth Sunday of Easter, and a collect for guidance. Deacon Diana, would you lead us in these two prayers?
SPEAKER_09A God whose son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people. Grant that when we hear his voice, we may know him who calls us each by name and follow where he leads, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God forever and ever. Amen. Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being. We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Thank you, Deacon. And now it's time for America's gun toll. And look at how many people get shot or killed each week with all the guns that we have lying around in America. Our top story dealt with that today. And uh Virginia's attempts to place some laws and to place that will help with some of the problems with our gun toll. This uh total is as of Monday. That's when we pull our stats. That's a five guys, burgers and fries. You would think that would be a fairly decent place to go eat. They've got tables out front. You can see though that it's quite a mess. And there are police tape lines on both sides, a squad car. Five people were hurt by gunfire on Sunday when people in Bloomington, Indiana were celebrating the Little 500. The Little 500 is a cycling race that occurs over the weekend. Two individuals opened fire in the crowd. Those injured ranged in ages from 17 to 22. It was mostly young people who were on the street at the time. And at the time of this report, the Bloomington police had not identified any suspects. It sounds like these two people walked into the area or came into the area, opened fire, and then left. We looked at this last week's gun total, and our numbers did go up for those killed, but they went down for those injured. Those killed by gunfire in the United States went up by more than 100. 375 people were killed in our country this past week. It brings our year-to-date total to 4,011 for 2026. And those injured by gunfire in the United States, that went down. So that went down considerably as well. It brings our total year-to-date injured in the United States to 6,921 people. And so we pray a prayer to end gun violence. I'm going to go ahead and read the prayer. Oh Lord our God, we pray for the victims of the other pandemic as gun violence ravages our homes, our streets, our businesses, our schools, and even our houses of worship. We pray for the children who are killed and injured. We pray for their families, their classmates, their teachers, and their school employees. We pray for the teenagers who are gunned down before their lives have really started. We pray for police officers who keep fighting a never ending battle while trying to keep themselves and everyone else safe. And we pray for an end to racial profiling and law enforcement. We pray for all who are depressed or mentally ill, wanting to hurt themselves or others in a nation where guns are everywhere. We pray for the victims of crime who are forced to defend themselves and their loved ones. And we pray for anti-violence activists and community leaders in a time when new methods of protest and reform must be created. Let your demands for justice and your cries for peace be heard, O Lord, in our legislative chambers and in our hearts. May your healing grace overtake this land through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
SPEAKER_05Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself. We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth the community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your name. The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
SPEAKER_05Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluja.
SPEAKER_01Now go in safety, for you cannot go where God is not, and go in love, for love alone endures, and go in peace, for that is God's gift to those whose hearts and minds are in his Son Jesus. And God's blessing be with you. Christ's peace be with you. The Spirit's outpouring be with you now and always. That's morning prayer on this Thursday. Thank you for coming to pray today. Wherever you go, take that love of Jesus that lives inside of you, that Jesus that you carry in your heart. Share that Jesus with the world. Show that Jesus to the world. Hope to see you back with us tomorrow.