Dear readers – how very sorry I am that I have taken an unannounced sabbatical from blogging. Do you find that sometimes life gets in the way? Such has been the case for me. Nothing unusual, a bit of a holiday, the usual house duties and work responsibilities and, perhaps the ennui that comes with February, have combined to make me negligent in my blogging duty. But I am here today and happy to reconnect.
What are the things that rise to the surface to share with you? Joys and Concerns and Prayers. These are three elements of every Sunday service here at the church. The congregation is invited, before the Prayers of the People to share the blessings and challenges of life in what we call “Joys and Concerns”, the people and situations named then become part of our prayer time. It can be a rich and celebratory time and also, sometimes, a sobering time as we hear the burdens and joys that colour people’s lives.
I think a lot about prayer. Why we do it. How we do it. When we do it. What it means. We have had two members of our congregation endure lengthy, invasive surgeries in the last month. Each time a Prayer Network has been established with someone dedicating 30 minutes of the day to pray with particular focus on the person having surgery. We have had enough people taking the 30 minute shift that the person has been held in prayer for the whole day. It has been a resource of strength and comfort for the person in surgery – knowing that she is held in prayer by her congregation. It has also been empowering for the people praying. It gives an avenue to support the individual while drawing on faith. It has been a gesture of kindness that carries the huge impact of prayer.
I have been a bit surprised at how readily people wanted to participate in the prayer network. It has touched people deeply in heart and spirit, both the ones praying and the ones being prayed for.
I am exploring ideas for ways to strengthen this ministry here and am curious to know what you do in your networks – church, community, family to hold one another in prayer. Is it organized? Formalized? Do you use specific prayer books? Do you sing a hymn while you pray? Please, let me know by comment below or private message how and when and where you pray for yourself or for others – I want to know. And, I promise it won’t be such a time gap until I blog again!
