Thy Kingdom Come is fast approaching and, in our small, semi-rural parish, we have been gearing up for a while now. There are a lot of things on offer to try, a lot of imaginative cogs whirring round in our heads and a huge amount of potential for reaching out beyond our church walls.
If you've not come across Thy Kingdom Come yet then, may I say, you are missing out! Last year, the initiative launched by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York saw thousands of people across the world praying during the 11 day period between Ascension Day and Pentecost. The prayer was specifically 'Thy Kingdom Come' and 85% of Church of England churches, plus many of other denominations, joined in praying for the world and for people to come to know Jesus.
If you took a poll of how people were planning to pray and reach out during TKC this year, then I can guarantee that no two answers would be the same. For us, in our parish, it's about reaching out to the community and our close friends and family. One of the highlights of last year was the prayer workshop we did in our local infant school, where each class spent a session in the hall exploring interactive prayer stations based on the Lord's prayer. It was noisy, it was messy but it was also really touching and profound as the youngest children in our community connected with God and interceded for those they knew and cared for (see below for a link to what we did). This year we'll be in school again but doing something completely different, which will have to remain a closely guarded secret for now or I will be in trouble!
It's not just in schools, though, that we are hoping TKC will have an impact. We truly believe that we are supposed to bless our community so we'll be venturing out on a prayer walk and making sure that church is open for prayer every day. Most excitingly of all we will be hosting a training day by the Ffald-y-Brenin community about how we can work to form the local house of prayer where we live. Individually, we will be encouraging each member of the church to pray for 5 friends or family members who don't yet know Jesus. We really want people around us to know that they are loved and valued by God and prayer is one of the most amazing tools we have in our box.
There is something incredible about being part of a movement of people praying together at the same time and for a specific purpose. It's almost as if we are being swept along on a tide of God's power and love and it really brings into focus the fact that, however, we choose to worship and whatever our style of the church looks like, we are all in this together. We are all disciples and we are all praying for God's kingdom to be released on earth. So if you want to join in but haven't really thought about how to have a look at the Thy Kingdom Come website or check out some of the numerous books and resources for prayer and worship available here at Kevin Mayhew. Join the movement and may God's Kingdom come to you, your community and those you love!
flamecreativekids.blogspot.co.uk
Written by Mina Munns
Mina's new book We all Share is available now only £6.99