Bristol is the place to be. City of Culture, or not, more and more people are wanting to live and/or work here. Visitors abound, be it to go shopping, to see hot-air balloons or just to explore the harbourside. Our roads and railways can hardly cope with the comings and goings every day.

So countless people are being influenced by the Spirit of Bristol - a city of life. So what is the spiritual temperature at the moment? Not easy to gauge. Certainly the Christian church remains fragmented and whilst some fellowships thrive, others are doing less well. Some things we can be sure of : God has not forsaken Bristol, He wants His people to prosper and He does listen when we call to Him.

In this edition of the Bristol PrayerWall Prayer Bulletin we take another glimpse at some aspects of city life. Please use these pictures in your prayers for Bristol.

The face of Bristol has changed at the top since the beginning of the year. No longer does any political party dominate. Both the City Council and South Gloucs are led by coalitions. Who would have believed that we would see promotional pictures of the leaders of the three parties shaking hands and smiling. We have a new Executive, a new Bishop, and even the St Pauls district has undergone a cleanup. Prayers have been answered.

Whilst the city docks may now be a leisure attraction, Bristol is still a maritime port. When a group of inner city kids were offered the chance to visit Avonmouth and Portbury they had no idea that ships still visited Bristol. They thought that a trip to the "docks" meant a visit to the doctors!

Students will soon be returning to our two popular universities. We have been asked to pray for those coming to study art. And as usual we ask you to pray for an area of Bristol, this time it's Lawrence Weston.

For several years now we have been praying for inner Bristol. So have these prayers been answered?

Well certainly both the police and the communities have welcomed the prayer initiatives; particularly the Prayer Patrols of the last few months in St Pauls.

There have been several major raids during August to apprehend drug dealers, and now a major cleanup is under way. So what next, the demand for drugs still exists and there seems to be increased activity across the M32 in Easton. Please pray for the Prayer Patrol which is now operating over there.

Some would say that there have been significant breakthrough in prayer and perhaps in five years time the seed of change will have germinated. So please do not cease to lift up all the communities and church leaders in St Paul's, Easton, Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill.

Praise God for the 70 young people plus young leaders who came to Barton Hill with FaithWorks as part of the Serving Church. They were involved in six days of Community Action ranging from painting and gardening to operating the playbus. It went well and safely. And it's not over because the young leaders recruited from Bristol to lead these teams are asking what else could they do. Please pray that they will be lead to discover what the Lord has in store.

Thank God for the folk at Trinity Tabernacle who over the Summer have had as many as 140 homeless people drop in for breakfast.

In place of a sense of hopelessness and a feeling of abandonment there is now a sense of purpose.

This Autumn please pray especially for those who are responding to this message of hope. If you want to respond by joining the Prayer Patrols then contact Rev Dawnicea Palmer on 942 9819. And please pray wisdom for police officers in their daily encounters with the communities and with offenders.

The new Bishop of Bristol wasted no time in stating that poverty was high on his agenda. Pray that God will show him how to tackle such a huge issue.

Please pray for Ann White a dedicated Christian now in the Cabinet of the City Council with responsibility for the largest portfolio. This includes Leisure Services, Transport and Environment. Pray for her personally and that God's name will be glorified through her work and witness.

John Herbert

However a lot money has been used to build new houses and replace the Flats, which has led to a big increase in "belonging" to the area. All the four churches are built in the same small area (good planning!) but we are trying to reach people living on the outskirts."

Steve Griffiths Lawrence Weston Christian Fellowship

Please pray the those who have recently graduated. Especially Christian ones who are seeking to glorify God with their profession and to share, in nuanceful art, the wonderful news of Jesus with a wider audience. Pray they will network well in the art world and have supportive Christian friends to bounce ideas off and pray with. That Christian artists will meet and connect with God-ordained contacts/ studio partners/employers/clients!" Madeleine Williamson

And where shall we be in five years from now? Maybe it will all be over and Jesus enthroned for ever - if not - could our vision be for a cleansed City where the Word of God is experienced. Perhaps another reason for people to flock into Bristol. Or maybe the bubble will have burst and our city will no longer prosper. Please continue to pray that folk will experience the love of God in their daily lives both residents and visitors alike.

The next "Prayer for Bristol" meeting is being held in Bradley Stoke at the invitation of the local churches. Sept 30th Holy Trinity Church 7:45pm.

Pray for new Senior Police Chaplain, Rev. Andy Paget, (has role in Police HQ, Specialist Units, and Trinity Rd police station, also responsible for recruiting and training new chaplains)– who takes up his role on 1^st September. His role is described as pastoral, priestly and also prophetic. Pray especially that God will provide a good administrator at his home church, Trinity Tabernacle – if you are interested in helping with admin. in this capacity please contact Andy on tel: 0117 9541715. – Pray for the Commissioning Service on Tues 2^nd Sept 7.30pm at the New Rooms in Broadmead.

" The Christian Institute is holding a meeting in your area at Zion Baptist Church, Trowbridge, on Friday 26 September 2003, 7.30 pm.

We hope it will be an encouraging evening to help Christians be confident and effective in taking a stand to be salt and light in our society. The event will focus on the issues facing Christians today. These issues will include:

Drugs;

Civil Partnerships;

Sex education and the repeal of Section 28;

Religious freedom in the UK;

New laws on sexual offences.

Further details are given in leaflets which can be obtained by telephoning 0191 281 5664.