Over the last while I have felt that the Lord is calling us as a church in two particular ways. The first is to ‘seek his face’; the second is to ‘be a blessing’. In order to do the second we need to do the first. In the run up to Easter I want to invite you to ‘seek the Lord’ with me. You might ask what that means, and the answer would be that I am not entirely sure. It involves ‘listening to what God might be saying to us’; praying for ‘his will to be done in our church’; ‘waiting upon him’. If I had more experience in this sort of thing I’d be able to tell you exactly what all that was about, but as I don’t I want to invite any who wish to join me on a learning journey. I am going to try and be obedient to the Lord and spend the 2 weeks in the run up to Easter as 14 days of prayer. Ian Aitken March 2010
What is “14 Days of Prayer”?
Although most of us as regularly pray, this is a time specially set aside to ask for God’s blessing upon our church.
Why are we doing it?
It is mainly out of obedience to a sense that this is what God wants.
How can individuals be involved?
There are a number of different ways that you can be involved. The programme is designed to allow everyone to take part as they are able. Some have more time available than others; some will want to just dip their toe in the water and find out what this is all about; some will want to experiment with new ways of praying. As we always say on a Sunday morning, “please join in with as much or as little as you feel comfortable with”. There are two ‘big events’ that you can attend, in addition to our Holy Week and Easter services, a number of opportunities to pray with others, and some things that you can do on your own.
THE BIG EVENTS
Praise and Prayer: Sunday 21st March 6.30 – 8.00 Cairncry Community Centre
An evening of worship and praying together to start the 14 Days of Prayer
Half Day of Prayer: Saturday 3rd April 2pm – Midnight - Cairncry Community Centre
The centre will be open for 10 hours allowing people to come and go as they please. There will different ways that people can pray, times of worship, and opportunities for reflection. Come for a short time or a long time. Come once or a few times.
PRAYING TOGETHER
Prayer Triplets
Why not find 2 or 3 other people who would meet with you to pray together during this time. You might combine it with a coffee and a time to chat. You might meet in a home or a coffee shop. You might meet just once in the 14 days or organise to get together 2, 3 or more times. If you want more guidance see the link to the right or speak to Ian. All you need to do is get together and pray: for each other, for the church, for the community, and for God’s will to be done.
Early Morning Prayer It is Ian’s intention to try and pray every morning of the 14 days from 7.30 till 8.00 am. If you would like to join him email him at ncdstockethill@uk.uumail.com..
Prayer Walking Similarly, Ian is going to spend some time walking around our community praying for it and he would rather be doing that with others. To organise a time to go out prayer walking again speak to Ian or email him at ncdstockethill@uk.uumail.com. You can also find out more about prayer walking here: www.prayforscotland.org.uk
Community Groups Most of the Community Groups will be meeting at least in the first week of the 14 Days. These groups always pray together, so if you are not part of one, this might be an opportunity to try one out. Speak to the group leaders or Ian for more info.
PRIVATE PRAYERS
Mid-day Lord’s Prayer All over Scotland approximately 4000 people have made a commitment to stop whatever they are doing and where ever they are at mid day to say the Lord’s Prayer. Find out more at The Big If? website here.
Prayer Cards A small card has been produced that you can put up on a mirror or above the sink, or wherever you might see it regularly. Every time you see the card why not stop and say the prayer. If you haven't yet got a card then there are more available on the Church Information Table at the back of the hall on a Sunday or email Ian at ncdstockethill@uk.uumail.com and he'll send you the text..
Prayer Journals. Last summer Matthew preached a sermon on prayer that encouraged people to begin to journal. Many in the congregation took up that challenge and have found it very helpful. A sheet has been prepared to give some focus to your journaling during the 14 days of Prayer: use the link to the right or pick it up from the Church Information Table at the back of the hall on a Sunday (or email ncdstockethill@uk.uumail.com to get a copy). For those who haven’t tried praying in this way, there are ‘Prayer Journals’ to take away as well as copies of Matthew’s sermon on CD for those who might want to listen to it.
Fasting. You could choose any to fast, but Ian will be fasting on Monday 22nd, Friday 26th, Monday 29th and Friday 2nd. There are lots of ways to fast so check out the link to the right or pick up a leaflet from the Church Information Table at the back of the hall on a Sunday.
