The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to every parish priest in the country, encouraging us to pray for the nation in the week leading up to Pentecost. This is from their letter:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we travel around the country, we are continuously encouraged by the faithfulness, commitment and courage of all our Partners in the Gospel. Your ministry in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, often in testing circumstances, is an inspiring testimony to the transforming work of our Lord. We thank God for our partnership in the Gospel.
Like us, you will know that ministry is empty and barren without prayer. That is why we are taking the unprecedented step of writing to every serving parish priest in the Church of England inviting you and your people to join us in a week of prayer for the evangelisation of our nation. In the week leading up to Pentecost (May 8th - 15th, 2016) we long to see a great wave of prayer across our land, throughout the Church of England and many other Churches.
Our hope is
- for all Christians to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ
- for all of us to have confidence to share the Gospel
- for all to respond to the call of Jesus Christ to follow Him as disciples, to live out the Gospel and to seek God’s Kingdom from day to day
At the heart of our prayers will be the words that Jesus Christ himself taught us - ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ It is impossible to overstate the life-transforming power of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas. It is famous enough to be spoken each day by billions in hundreds of languages and yet intimate enough to draw us ever closer into friendship with Jesus Christ. It is simple enough to be memorised by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory.
May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
+Justin Cantuar +Sentamu Eboracensis
At Holy Trinity Blacon, we will of course be praying in our usual services of worship, but also every member of the church will be encouraged to pray specifically for the evangelisation of our area. We will be giving out a small booklet to help focus your prayers each day of the week. Also, Wednesday 11th May will be our special prayer focus day. The church will be open all day (8.30am to 9.30pm) for people to come in and pray as and when they want. Material will be available in church to help you pray for different things. In addition, there will be a said services through the day: Morning Prayer at 9.00am, Evening Prayer at 4.00pm, Eucharist at 7.00pm and Compline at 9.00pm.
May we all pray at Pentecost and at all times, for God’s kingdom to come, and his will to be done in Blacon as it is in heaven.
Tina Upton
