Lessons from a Jenga Tower

At our service this morning continued the theme of “discipleship,” and today the theme was “corporate prayer.” In the Young People’s slot, early in the service, our lay minister (Reader) Colin Chettle, who was leading the service used a Jenga tower to demonstrate how the absence of individuals (and their prayers) can weaken the whole structure. Younger people, and their prayers, were vital to the life of the church. The game was started by the children, although adults helped, especially when the tower got so high that the children could not reach. But the higher the tower, the greater the crash!

Another of our lay ministers, Karen, showed how important corporate worship was in the life of the early church and invited us to discuss why we found it difficult to pray corporately. Finally she invited us to discuss ways that we could find to overcome the problems that we had identified.

With a “Prayer Hour” in church this evening, we wait to see the effect Karen’s sermon has had.

Thy Kingdom Come

The final event of the Thy Kingdom Come campaign was a united service of prayer at St Paul’s for all the members of the churches together in Oadby.

The service was taken by Gillian and Tom Cox of the Baptist Church also took part. There were not only hymns and prayers led from the front, but prayer stationed around the back of the church, which concentrating our prayers for the need for God to work in the many aspects of life in Oadby.

But may the ending of this Campaign not be the ending of our call by Christ to pray: “thy kingdom come.”

Thy Kingdom Come - 10-20 May

Between Ascension Day (last Thursday) and Pentecost (next Sunday) we are taking part in the Archbishops’ initiative “Thy Kingdom Come.” At St Paul’s, this will include supporting “A Wave of Prayer in Oadby.”

We are inviting everyone to join in praying The Lord's Prayer every day during these 10 days at the regular times of 8.00am, 1.00pm and 8.00pm, either silently to oneself or out loud.  Just stop what you are doing and focus on the Lord's Prayer for a couple of minutes.  

Then on 19 May from 10.00am, there will also be prayer on the Parade in Oadby.

To conclude ‘Thy Kingdom Come,” joining with other “Churches Together in Oadby,” there will be a time of prayer at St. Paul’s at 6.30pm.

The Prayer Tree

At an earlier event of “Thy Kingdom Come” we set up a Prayer Tree in The Parade in Oadby Village Centre. Passers-by were offered chocolates to represent God’s generosity and invited to write a prayer on one of the the paper “leaves,” which was then stuck to an outline of a tree.

Quite a number of people accepted this opportunity – though the high wind made it a battle to keep the “leaves” on the tree, let alone keeping the “Thy Kingdom Come” banner upright!

Our prayer is that more people may consider the importance of prayer.

Praying together for Oadby

On Sunday evening St Paul's hosted 'Praying together for Oadby', an evening service for Churches Together in Oadby at the end of the Thy Kingdom Come wave of prayer. In between sung worship at the beginning and end of the service everyone was invited to make use of a variety of prayer stations at the back of church. Each church had been invited to provide an interactive prayer station focused on a particular area of our shared community life together. Here are some photos below..

 Everyone up and out of their seats making use of the different prayer stations which had been provided by the different churches in Oadby.

 Praying for the local emergency services and the safety of the community.

 Asking God how we should respond and share the love and light of Christ in the community.

 Praying for the local borough council and for our diverse community, that we can continue to live in harmony.

 An opportunity to write our own prayers and put them on the prayer wall or light a candle for those who have suffered particularly at the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London.

Praying for the local shops, businesses and community groups.

It was a good time for us to come together and pray for the needs of our community. A big thank you to all who came along and to those who worked hard to make the service happen.

Thy Kingdom Come

Under the title of “Thy Kingdom Come,” the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is inviting Christians around the world to pray as one for people to know Jesus Christ. The prayer events, which will differ widely from church to church will take place between Ascension (25 May) and Pentecost (4 June.)

This event first took place last year, but this year is being extended both internationally and to other denominations. St Pauls intends to take a full part with a programme of prayer related activities.
25 May: Prayer stations at St Peter’s Church 12.00midday - 5.00pm
27 May: Prayer on the Parade at Tippets florist 10.00am - 12.00midday
29 May: Indoor Prayer Labyrinth at St Paul’s 4.00pm – 8.00pm
4 June: Family Messy Prayer Event at St Peter's 4.00pm - 5.30pm

4 June ‘Praying together for Oadby’ at St Paul’s 6.30pm

During this time of prayer St Paul's will be opened every day between 4-5pm for people to come along and pray. Resources are available to help you to pray.
On Monday a prayer labyrinth will be laid out in church.
On Sunday 4th June at 6.30pm we will be hosting 'Praying together for Oadby', a chance for us all to come together to pray for our town.
Do join in with this global wave of prayer, particularly praying that many would come to know Jesus.

Pray4Life

As Christians prayer is at the heart of everything we do. That is why I am excited about this latest prayer journey from The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Pray4Life is a 40 day period of prayer for people to become spiritually alive. Beginning on the 2nd November LICC will send out daily emails with a brief prayer prompt to encourage us to pray that the people around us, the people we meet regularly will become spiritually alive and open to faith.
I have signed up to join this prayer journey, you can too by clicking here.

Spirituality Sunday

At this mornings service we focused on the different practises people use to sustain them in their relationship with God. I interviewed 5 members of the congregation who spoke about silent retreat, spiritual direction, bible reading, prayer partners and journaling. Each one shared how this allowed them to encounter God and we were privileged to hear some powerful and moving testimonies.
Thank you to those who took part. May we all be encouraged and inspired to spend time with God.
'Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.' James 4.8

Try Praying

20 million adults in the UK pray.
13 million pray at least once a month and 9 million every day.
One in three people believes God will answer their prayers.

On Sunday we gave everyone a copy of the Try Praying booklet and encouraged them to use it for the next 7 days and see what happens.

To find out more, order your own booklet or download the app visit http://www.trypraying.org/

Prayer

Prayer is an important part of the Christian faith. I offered a challenge at the beginning of the year to make 2012 a 'Year of Prayer' where we deepen our prayer life and experiment with new ways of praying. After my sermon on 5th February about prayer some people have asked about books on prayer. Below are a few recommendations from the hundreds of books available.

Books on Prayer

'How to Pray: A practical handbook' by John Pritchard (SPCK)
For those starting out in prayer and those who want to deepen or refresh their prayer life. An excellent book with lots of practical suggestions for different styles and traditions of prayer.

'Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing down to be with God' by Bill Hybels (IVP)
For those who know more about prayer than they have time to put into practise. Recognising the importance of prayer and making time for it.

'Prayer: Does it make any Difference?' by Philip Yancey (Hodder)
Not afraid to ask the big questions and share from his own experience Yancy writes honestly and thinks deeply.

'God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer' by Pete Greig (Survivor)
The fonder of the 24/7 prayer movement writes honestly about unanswered prayer with reference to his wife's suffering.

'Personality & Prayer: finding the prayer style that suits you' by Ruth Fowke (CWR)
Linked to the Myers-Briggs personality types a great resource for exploring prayer in a way that suits you, recognising that one size does not fit all.

Bible Study Guides on Prayer

'The Lord's Prayer' by Douglas Connelly. Lifebuilder Bible Study (Scripture Union)
8 sessions working through the Lord's prayer in stages and using other passages of scripture to help you go deeper into Jesus' teaching.

'Great Prayers of the Bible: Applying then to our lives today' by Jennifer Oldroyd. Cover to Cover Bible Study (CWR)
7 sessions looking at the prayers of different characters in the Bible.

Where are the children?

We're thankful to God that St Paul's is a growing church. We're seeing more people join us each year and it's wonderful that people are finding faith and encouragement here.

But behind the overall figures, we're concerned that the number of children in our church has fallen substantially. So we're reflecting carefully and praying in order to understand more clearly the reasons for the change and also to seek God's leading in response.

The attendances at our all-age worship service last Sunday, and on the corresponding Sunday in 2003, illustrate the point really well. The proportion of adults is shown on these charts in red, children in blue.

The District Church Council (DCC) has been considering these issues and has committed to two one-hour prayer meetings, to which the whole church is invited. These are on 4 November, from 7.30 to 8.30pm in the Barnabas Centre, and on 22 November, from 6.30 to 7.30pm in the Church.

You can also read the full analysis that the DCC is exploring.

The Jesus Prayer

We ended yesterday's sermon The problem we all have with pride, by reciting The Jesus Prayer. It's the best antidote for the twin pitfalls of self-obsession, which at the opposite extremes, are arrogance and self-hatred.

The prayer has been used for centuries in the Orthodox Church and has only come to prominence in the west in recent decades. It combines two of the most profound prayers of Luke's gospel - the tax-collector's prayer in the parable of Luke 18.13 and the cry of the blind man in Luke 18.35-8.

So here it is, a prayer centred on Jesus. A prayer of penitence and longing which is full of faith and hope.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Pray it repetitively, so that the words shift focus on the elements of praise and penitence and finally, to a quietening prayer of the heart.

St Paul's Engaged

The following is taken from a supplement to our weekly "Epistle" notice sheet, to summarise some of the big things happening at St Paul's just now. We see important connections here and are using the idea of St Paul's Engaged as a way of thinking about the way these initiatives work together.

Following on from our Grace, Gratitude and Growth process it's clear that several ideas and initiatives are pointing to a new phase in the life of St Paul's. There are lots of exciting developments just now that are located on the 'boundaries' of church and neighbourhood. They go to the heart of our mission and purpose and build on St Paul's long record of being confidently engaged with the people of the neighbourhood. St Paul's Engaged means discovering new passion and imagination for growing this work. We sense that the initiative and creativity for these things begins outside of ourselves, that God is leading us forward in surprising ways. There are just too many to be described in a regular weekly 'Epistle', so this special supplement aims to keep everyone informed about what's going on. Give thanks for all that is good, celebrate God's grace, and work to see St Paul's Engaged!

Grace, gratitude and growth
We had a big response to the GGG process in October and November. It's become apparent that God is leading us forward in a number of key areas. Over 70 different people were involved but not everyone had a chance to be at every event. Here's what we did:

We made a key assumption throughout the process: that every good thing that we have experienced in our church life stems from God's grace. Thinking about all that is "true, honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise" re-connects us to spiritual resources that get overlooked when we focus on traditional problem-solving in our own strength (see Philippians 4.8).
We remembered the foundational stories of our church community and we heard about the great moments when we've moved forward together. In these we found revelations of God's character and clues about the key themes that are characteristic of St Paul's in its mission. These five key themes are:

• Learning and growing
• Children
• Outreach
• Hospitality, fun and food
• Prayer

We dared to dream - dreams that are expressed in the affirmative, as if already happening to us; that point to real desired possibilities; that are faithful to our collective reflections (not our own pet subjects or hobby-horses); that create new relationships, including partnerships across boundaries (young and old, recent member and long-standing member, church and community, etc.); that bridge the best of "what is" and "what might be"; that involve us learning new things; and that challenge assumptions about our routines or our organisation of things.

A week later our evening worship was interrupted. We were reflecting on how Acts 2.42-47 reflected the priorities that God had laid on our hearts. A young man in considerable need came into the chapel just as we were thinking about our engagement with the wider community. We'd planned a service of eucharistic sharing in bread and wine; we ended up caring for a family and sharing tea with the emergency services. People began to ask, "could God be giving us further clues about re-orienting our worship and service?"

Open Church
A careful and considered discussion about opening our church building more often took place at the DCC. We decided that a time of focussed praying was needed and in this separate event, there was a remarkable unity in sensing God's encouragement to take a greater risk in this direction. To start with, we've decided to open the church from 8.30am to 12.00 on Wednesdays to Sundays each week during Advent, with the hope to see this continue or expand. The Chapel will be available for people to come and use for their prayers.

Prayer and Praise
You're invited to join us in Prayer and Praise in church on 30 November, 14 December and 11 January, from 6.30-8.00pm. We'll focus on the areas of growth that emerged from GGG in the two services in Advent and, in January, on Alpha. We'll plan these services with a light structure, so that we're open to God in prayer. We expect that these will be important times to discern our next steps. Everyone is welcome.

Little Angels
The Little Angels mums and tots group is meeting an important need among local parents and carers for friendship and a place to take pre-school children. As young mums themselves, Keely, Lauren and Tina are doing a great job in leading the project and they will be giving a presentation to the DCC in January. Gwynneth is going in regularly for storytelling.

Alcoholics Anonymous
Our Barnabas Centre is used by a thriving AA group who offer key support on a twelve-step programme for facing up to the realities of alcohol use and a supportive environment for retaining sobriety. We are pleased to partner with AA in this vital work and we applaud the members of the local group for all that they do.

Mental Health Support Project
This new initiative is in partnership with Voluntary Action Blaby District, whose Mental Health Project offers a variety of social support groups, self help courses and a Befriending Scheme that aim to provide the skills people need to enable them to cope with their difficulties, increase their confidence and self esteem and lead an independent life. The first meeting of this group at the Barnabas Centre was held in November and should run every week for the next five years.

Parkinson's Disease Society
Our welcome to the Parkinson's Disease Society took a new direction when Jill was in conversation with the local organisers. From this chance conversation, we are looking forward to up to twenty church members joining to sing Christmas carols and a Christmas message on Tuesday 2 December at 10.30.

Carers' Project
The Carers' Project of Voluntary Action Oadby and Wigston continues to meet at The Barnabas Centre every month to support people who have a major role in caring for a family member. It may not seem a lot, but a monthly meeting breaks patterns of isolation and offers valuable support and encouragement.

Alpha 2009
Nineteen people who came along to explore the Christian faith at our last Alpha Course. We're starting our next course on 20 January and are hoping for a really good response. Here are some quotes from people who came on Alpha at St Paul's in 2008:

"I enjoyed being part of a diverse and friendly group of people on a Christian course that was informative and challenging. The structure of weekly sessions with input by the leader to the whole group, followed by the excellent DVD’s, and ending with small group sessions worked well. PS: and the supper each week was great also."
"Alpha at St Paul's presented a warm and friendly place that gave me the opportunity to explore the Christian faith and meet people from all backgrounds and points of view."
"It was a life changing experience that not only brought more depth and meaning to my life but also changed my approach to life, which in turn has benefitted the people that I meet in the course of my day."
"I have always had a faith, but I always had questions that needed to be answered. The Alpha course helped me to answer those questions. In fact a lot of the questions that the course itself asked were similar to those that I wanted answering."

Remember, these aren't the words from some slick marketing team. They're the words of people who responded to invitations and came to Alpha at St Paul's in 2008. So who will you invite to Alpha in January 2009? Do look out for the publicity, get involved and pray for Alpha 2009.

Chapel Prayer board
People are increasingly using the chapel prayer board to make requests that will be prayed for at our morning prayer meetings, and also during the 9.45am Thursday Holy Communion. Please spend a few minutes visiting The Chapel and use it for your own private prayer or with others.

Courses from Care for the Family
Anita, Paul, Chris, Sue and Teri recently attended an Engage conference and training by Care for the Family. The excellent material gives clear ways of understanding and responding to community needs. We've recognised the importance of beginning this in a manageable way but already it's exciting to plan for really practical and helpful courses in relation to basic financial management and the issue of drug use. We're taking our time to get this right, so don't expect to see the courses up and running until the latter half of 2009 and into 2010. There will be opportunity for more people to get involved as time goes on.

Renewal leave
Simon's three-month sabbatical begins after Easter. We're hoping that it's going to be a refreshing and a stimulating time for all of us. We're glad to be part of a well-resourced and capable parish with St Peter's, to enjoy excellent ecumenical relationships with Churches Together in Oadby and to be part of one of the most developed Mission Partnerships in the Diocese.

During Grace, Gratitude and Growth, someone looked at all we were exploring and with some surprise they noted, "We're strong!" Let's use our strength to help others, to lend a hand and in our partnership with God in mission to our parish, and to keep St Paul's Engaged.

Settled... It's "The Chapel"

One of the exciting things that we've been exploring lately is if and how we could open the church building and make it available to the community for personal prayer. In a meeting with Anita and Paul this afternoon we turned to the vexed question of what to call the bit at the front, commonly known as the Sidechapel.

From "Prayer Centre" (too clinical) to "Prayer Room" (too much like an airport) to "Sidechapel" (too much emphasising its location as opposed to its function), we settled on "The Chapel". We simply dismissed "The Oratory" and "The Lady Chapel" as being... well, not us.

Expect news in the coming days about how The Chapel will be offered to the people of our neighbourhood as a place of peace for quiet reflection and personal prayer.

Opening our hearts, opening our church

Last Sunday evening the sidechapel was full. We'd arranged a prayer meeting following the DCC's discussion of whether to keep our church open for extended hours. It's something that St Peter's Church does (Frank the verger says we should "go for it!") and several other local churches in the mission partnership do as well. Of course, there are issues of safety and security. We want to balance responsibility and hospitality and for that we needed God's guidance.

We began with a few moments of discussion to set the context, then asked God to help us in our reflections. We took a lighted candle flame out into the darkness and prayed in the alley behind the church. This is a favourite haunt of young men during the afternoons and we often find litter or minor vandalism. I guess it's this group that gives us most concern in terms of what could go wrong. But we reminded ourselves that they are as much loved by God as we are and that we have a responsibility to reach out to them.

We walked around the church and brought our fragile candle flame (which had to be re-lit a couple of times) to the area outside the front doors. We remembered that it's often difficult for visitors to step across a threshold into church and that what we take for granted is a big issue for most people. The foyer is lovely and welcoming, with positive and attractive displays, yet this movement from outside to inside is still a significant one. We prayed again outside, then prayed inside for the rest of our time together.

It became clear as people offered prayers, feelings and pictures that the Lord was inviting us to move the balance between responsibility and risk just a little further towards the adventurous. This wasn't a time for working out the details but we were sure that we heard God call us forward and to make some plans for extending the opportunity for people to come in, rest and pray.

Should we open our church?

Every now and then, we find ourselves wrestling with a fascinating question that goes to the heart of our church life. This week, the DCC asked itself whether we should leave our church open for periods during the week, so that people can drop in to look around and to find a quiet spot for prayer and reflection.

Anita discovered helpful information at a recent meeting of representatives of local churches that are open. We shared this at the DCC and talked for a long time about the practical opportunities, and problems, of keeping the building open.

Some felt that being such a new building, and located in the midst of a housing estate, we are unlikely to be seen as an interesting place to visit. And some expressed reservations about the vulnerability to theft and damage from the youths that frequently loiter around the building.

Others felt that this was an important opportunity to witness to the availability of God, and his Church, to the wider neighbourhood. Some suggested that the side chapel could become an even more significant place for prayer.

We decided that this is a question that we should offer to the whole church. We've planned a short prayer meeting for Sunday 19 October, from 6.30 to 7.30pm, at which we'll try to discern what the right approach might be. If you have any thoughts, use the comments feature below.

A spirituality for the 21st Century - Lay Congress 2009

The Rt. Revd Gordon Mursell, Bishop of Stafford and a well-known preacher, author and tutor in spirituality. I remember him from my days in Lichfield Diocese and always found his lectures fascinating. I remember a couple of talks on the topic of lament, in particular.

This all-day event is free of charge and well worthwhile if you're interested in how spirituality can sustain contemporary living.

For a programme of the day and further information, see this article on the Diocese of Leicester website.

Quiet Day

Helen Bence, Convenor of the Gartree Mission Partnership, writes:

Our first Quiet Day promises to be a very special occasion.

Led by Rev'd Dr Alison Morgan of ReSource, it will take take place at Gartree House, Illston on the Hill from 10 am - 4 pm on Saturday 17th May 2008.

The theme for the day is Streams of Living Water. Why not put this day aside to allow yourself to be spiritually refreshed?
To book your place, please phone our Lay Convener, Liz Smith, 0116 241 4270 or e-mail Liz at admin@thurnbychurch.com

Damaris launches Deovox online bible resource

Deovox is an audio devotional bible reading service. It's British and the samples on the website looks quite good. The idea is that as fewer people are making time for daily devotional bible reading finding new ways of bringing the relevance of the scriptures to people becomes more urgent. The Deovox audio files can be listened to on an iPod or computer. The introductory video is here:

Quiet Spaces

Helen and John are opening their home for Quiet Spaces. The group is aimed at busy women but is suitable for everyone. Quiet Spaces will meet at 7.30pm on Wednesdays in Lent, beginning on 13 February.

I'm always moved when someone comes up with an initiative, seeing a need and responding with a positive, practical and spiritually-oriented action. I have a hunch that Quiet Spaces will be very special. I've not published contact details to ensure Helen and John's privacy but if you're interested, please send me an email and I'll get a message through to them.