We're joining the global wave of prayer calling all Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost (21st May - 31st May) for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ.
This year we're really going global as we're partnering with St. Mark's, Camberwell in Australia to jointly pray for 24 hours. It's a great opportunity to pray for the work here in Chipping Norton, as well as for our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world. We'd love you to be a part of this!
We'll be starting 24 hours of prayer at 1pm on Sunday 24th May and culminating the event on Monday 25th May by joining together via Zoom from 12noon to 1pm, the time of our regular Building to Serve prayer meeting. Everyone is invited to join us for this very special prayer meeting - please email office@stmaryscnorton.com for the Zoom link or look in Mary's Matters.
Our vicar, James, met Ben from St. Mark's via Zoom earlier this week. Click here to see a video of how they got on:
If you'd like to sign up to pray for an hour please fill in the Doodle Poll here: https://doodle.com/poll/w4k8x23n2z97qa9y
Click here for our top prayer resources to inspire you.
What should we pray about?
There's so much we can be praying about, both for us here in the UK and for our partners in Australia:
Prayer points for St. Mary's, Chipping Norton:
- For those we love to come to know the hope and love of Christ, and for us to see how we can further show God’s love towards them
- For those who have lost loved ones to Covid-19, those who are sick and those who are on the front line caring for people in hospital and care homes
- For our plans for The Branch and that God will bless our desire to serve our community, including the most vulnerable, especially in the aftermath of the current crisis
- For the work distributing food and other supplies to hundreds of families in lockdown
- For the one in four British adults who have tuned into a religious service since the start of lockdown, and wisdom to know how to continue to reach out to people who are searching for meaning
Prayer points for St. Mark's, Camberwell:
https://stmarkscamberwell.org.au/prayer-vigil
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For effective control of the most recent outbreak of Covid-19 at a Melbourne meat works, and protection for the network of people connected to that meat works
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For good government at state and federal levels, with cooperation in policy making as we start to recover from all the effects of this pandemic
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For our local community to hear and believe the good news about Jesus, and for confidence for us as we each share Him with people in conversations and relationships
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For continued opportunities for our Australian-based mission partners, to share the gospel in schools, universities, and rural Australia
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For our global mission partners to continue in good health, and for the communities they’re serving to see their hope in Jesus shining through in the midst of this pandemic
So many people in our community feel the weight of debt, and we are passionate about helping to release anyone we can from a life sentence of debt and poverty. At St Mary's we are working with Christians Against Poverty to bring good news, hope and freedom. If you need support, we'd love to hear from you.
Everyone has questions about what life is all about. We believe that everyone should have a chance to share those questions, explore the Christian faith and give their point of view.
Alpha is a place where you can ask those questions in an honest, friendly and open environment. We'll be running a course again in the Autumn, but in the meantime, find out more here...