Join us on Monday 28th May 2012 at 12noon (local time) - wherever you are in the world - to pray for those beyond the reach of the church as it often is, for fresh expressions of church and all who champion, lead or attend them.
The dedicated hour of prayer is for all those who want to thank God for what has gone before and pray together for what lies ahead. Pray with others or pray alone, pray on our online prayer wall (below, on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #285prayer) or download our resources to give you ideas for specific prayer on the day and in the future.
You might want to:
- use our 60 prayers for 60 minutes (download);
- follow our suggested prayer guide for the hour (below);
- pray for specific fresh expressions of church which have shared their prayer requests on our prayer map;
- read the stories of lives transformed through fresh expressions of church across the globe;
- pray in your own way, in your own time;
- gather in a group to pray;
- meditate using our reflection on Galatians 2 (download .mov or .wmv);
- share your prayer time with others online;
- pray with your local community.
Join is in prayer from 12noon to 1pm and please share anything you feel God is saying.
Bishop Graham Cray, Archbishops' Missioner and leader of the Fresh Expressions team, added,
The hour of prayer will take place on the day after Pentecost, when we traditionally celebrate the birthday of the church. This designated time of waiting on God in thankfulness for the past and hope for the future is one I welcome and encourage others to share with us.
Resources
- Suggested guide to hour of prayer (download .pdf below);
- 60 prayers for 60 minutes [60.00] (download PowerPoint presentation);
- Galatians 2 meditation [4.35] (download .mov or .wmv video file);
-
Hour of prayer event on
Facebook; -
#285prayer on
Twitter.
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Phil, 12:07 Monday, 28 May, 2012
A friend of mine was reflecting on the Lord's prayer:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...
Your Kingdom come, your will be done...
She said that sometimes we need to reflect on who our father- how big, how good he is etc.- in order to reflect on the things of his kingdom and pray it in.
I just remembered it as a helpful way of starting to pray for the things of the kingdom and fresh expressions of church...
Tim Yau, 12:09 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Paul the apostle's mandate to gospel enculturalization:
"I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures, to the educated and uneducated alike." [Romans 13b-14 - New Living Translation 1997]
Stephen, 12:25 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Thank you Lord for every new generation moved by your Holy Spirit to see, hear, act , go to people who wouldn't have come across their paths that new communities of faith begin in surprising places. Help us Lord to do tue same for our time & place. Amen
Phil Joyce, 12:27 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Hard not to be reminded of light in this amazing sunshine we are having. Seeing the effect that light has on our environment, lighting it up,making dingy places look bright. In the same way God shines into the darkest places.
Think it is supposed to be an encouraging picture for fresh expressions of church and churches making new disciples.
Also a reminder that God lights up our lives, not just uses us to be a light to others, and how much we need him!
Ian Kent, 12:38 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Lord, at Pentecost, when you poured out your spirit, you gave your disciples the ability to communicate in such a way that everyone around them could hear the good news in their own language. Today I pray for all those working to communicate the gospel in a way that makes sense to those around them. I thank you for those you have called to take the gospel message to a particular age group or a particular cultural group, or a particular geographical area, or online. I pray for those called to communicate the gospel in music, drama, art, photography, video, dance, poetry ... Bless their creativity, and inspire them by the in-dwelling of your Holy Spirit.
I thank you for those people and teams of people trying to think differently about what your church should be, what it should look like, how it should feel, where it should meet. Lord, don't let your church get dull, or settled, or static, but keep us on the move. Keep us dreaming dreams. Keep us alive and moving in step with the Spirit.
Norman Ivison , 13:11 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Quiet in the garden for the first 15 mins and then, perhaps appropriately, the noise of the world broke in as workmen began digging up the road. It was good to be reminded that the fresh expressions movement isn't all about strategy and planning and resources, but about reaching those who feel they aren't good enough, feeding the poor, helping the homeless, and nurturing the needy. Lord, teach me to practise what I preach.
Abigail Rose, 13:17 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Felt like God was speaking about acceptance. How so many people in our communities are longing to be loved and accepted and we as the church need to communicate this about God's feelings towards them and show it through how we relate them.
Also something about valuing the small and that God is doing very significant and amazing things in the small things that are happening all over the world!
:-)
Anonymous, 13:44 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Read Deuteronomy 30 and 31 and was reminded again of God's faithfulness and the call to be strong and courageous.
The words 'Choose Life' in Deut 30. 19 stood out reminding me that fresh expressions need to be offering life.
Also read Paula Gooder's reflection on Phoebe in Romans 16: 1- 2 and was struck by the need for godly and generous patrons for fresh expressions.
Andrew Robrew, 13:45 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Oops. Anonymous at 13.44 was me.
Elaine Lindridge, 13:48 Monday, 28 May, 2012
A group of us met to pray (very helpful powerpoint thank you). Afterwards we talked of the need to pray for more workers...we feel that the harvest is indeed ready, just as Jesus said, but it's the workers we are struggling to find.
Karen Carter, 14:50 Monday, 28 May, 2012
The 60 Prayers for 60 Minutes prompted me in many ways. The Graffiti in the Playground made me consider, 'What obvious marks are we making on our communities for ALL to see?' The Shattered Glass on the Pavement brought to mind the fresh expressions which serve those in brokenness and mess. And what about the Voices That Need To Be Heard? I believe these are voices which have a new story to tell because of what God has done for them through a fresh expression. Those who lead and champion the movement are extremely important but their songs are already sung in networks, and hubs, and forums. We need to hear more from those who have seen their lives change as a result of God at work in new forms of church. Exciting and challenging...
Rachel Matthews, 15:20 Monday, 28 May, 2012
I headed out of my house, I found myself at the back of a new housing estate. Behind these beautiful new buildings I discovered derelict buildings and disused roads that I didn't know even existed! I felt God cry that we shouldn't ever give up. There is work still to be done and yet he is pleased, with what we have achieved so far...
I'm sure somehow, my prayer journey, led me to a place I needed to physically see... I'm not sure what God has in mind for it, but I can rest assured he will show me, when the time is right!
Pete Atkins, 16:38 Monday, 28 May, 2012
I find myself very much in the same place as Elaine and her fellow saints in the North East of England - much of the way ahead can only be made possible, effective and navigable - in prayer - to the Lord of the harvest. We must persevere in prayer for ordinary folk to rise up, tirelessly continue to share the vision of contextually birthing the gospel, encourage courageous and deliberate submission to the creativity and initiative of the Holy Spirit, continue to face up to the ache of those who so desperately need God and figure out what God's love for them should mean to/for us.
Adrian Chatfield, 16:57 Monday, 28 May, 2012
Bob and Mary Hopkins met with me and another member of the Simeon Community in Ridley chapel (thanks to Ben and Norman for a great powerpoint) - many moving moments in prayer, but the one I will remember was a picture that Ann had, of a little traditional church in a valley with a dam above it, beginning to break. The word was that we need to build higher up, i.e. not down in the valley. It's slightly mysterious, and I'm musing on it, but I think that there is something strong in this about God's command to build where he wants us to and not where we're used to building. Great fellowship, and special to pray around FX in NZ, Barbados, Australia, USA, Canada, Germany and England. So exciting!
Adrian Chatfield, 08:55 Tuesday, 29 May, 2012
From a student on mission with a group from Ridley, at St Michael-le-Belfrey, York: "Hi Adrian, Just wanted to thank you for the 60 minute prayer PPT from Fresh Expressions - it spoke powerfully to me/us this morning on the Mission! Paul Weston had asked me to have something up my sleeve (a kind of "thought for the day' type thing) for the staff meeting this morning at St Mike's, but we also knew someone else might do it, so I thought that I would just keep it pretty simple and just ask God to send something...(Oh, and on the programme for us all today was Street Evangelism...)
Anyway with the reminders in mind of the prayer for FX today, I looked at the website and the PPT, and then all the slides about feet and walking just 'jumped out' at me - then this morning I had planned to look at the daily reflection on the C of E's "Reflections for Daily Prayer" to see if there was anything particular in that and the first sentence was '...for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go' (Joshua 1:9). Then, when I read the whole reading it said (vs 3) "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given for you, as I promised to Moses'...then, as if all that wasn't enough, I had two little plays of the app "Draw Something" (it's a game where you are given words to draw and you friends have to guess them and vice versa) and the first word I was given to draw was "sneaker" and the second was "witness"! Think God was trying to get a message through??!! Anyway, I shared it with the others and H mentioned and S prayed into Isaiah 52:7. It was great! So thanks for the inspiration! Oh, and another good side effect was that A [worker with Agape UK] found out about the PPT and really liked it! I downloaded it for him on his laptop and he said he will use it. So, again, thank you! I hope the prayer day/hour had and will continue to have some good results for FX...