Bristol PrayerWall Newsletter – Feb.2005

 

CONTENTS:

 

Send City Prayer requests  for next newsletter to bristolprayerwall@blueyonder.co.uk

 

REGULAR PRAYER WALL MEETING to PRAY for BRISTOL 2ND SAT. OF EVERY MONTH - SAT.FEB. 12TH 11AM – 1PM with Worship ; Venue is Jesus Kingdom City church, Cannon St, next to the Travel Inn and Bus station, Broadmead -  We would encourage all " Bricks" to come. We are starting a teaching slot on Prayer for 30 mins.

 

Christians are described as 'salt' and 'light' by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  They should bring wholeness to society and reflect the Light of Christ by the lives they live. Jesus warns Christians to keep their eyes fixed on Him.  What we see, both physically and spiritually, affects the quality of our lives and our witness for Him.The Apostle Paul reminds Christians that they once walked in spiritual darkness.  Having experienced their freedom in Christ they should have nothing to do with what they know to be morally sinful.  On the contrary, their lives should shine Christ's Light on what is evil and dark in human behaviour.Our Christian witness may seem but a tiny light in the surrounding darkness, but faithfulness to the Truth will bear fruit. Paul reminds us that the fruit of the light within us produces goodness, righteousness and truth. Christ is the Light within us and is able to do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine in our own lives and in the lives of others.

 

YOUTH

Regenerate,

Clive, from Yate, asks for prayer for this School Assemblies Team, formed from Churches of Yate, Chipping Sodbury and YMCA. 

 27 schools in the area are visited by the team. Rock Solid is a Christian based lunch club in a secondary school;Assemblies are taken in year 7 in a secondary school;

JAM is a bimonthly young people's group;FIZZ a quarterly group for primary school children.

Pray for entrance into another secondary school, that so far is closed to the team.

 

SOCIAL ACTION

The Bristol Methodist Centre

Lee Barnes, is a new worker at the centre and requests prayer for the centre’s work. This is in a sense, a Church for the homeless and marginalized. It provides free food, clothing, showers, computer classes, art groups, mental health workers, community nurse, housing benefit advisers. There is also a "Quiet Room" where there is daily prayer and a short service on Sundays with prayer for healing. Lee asks for prayer;

for our members to be directed in their lives as they attempt to make choices and steps to improve their lives.

That the transforming power of God may be evident  to more of our members and that the atmosphere of the centre will be charged with His presence. That  the team will be open and alert to what the Lord requires of us.

For protection from the forces opposed to the Lord's work here.

 

EASTON  - Please also pray for the Church at Easton Christian Family Centre, as their vicar leaves at Easter, and they need God's guidance for the future.

 Bristol Community Family Trust

Aims to strengthen families and  turn back the tide of family breakdown through relationship education, and mentoring. Pray for the proposed regular courses starting this month in Bristol prison, which are already making a difference! Check out the web-site and get excited about the wonderful opportunities for change in family life! www.bcft.co.uk  It is very interesting

 

PRAY FOR MORE INVOLVEMENT IN THE BRISTOL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP BY CHRISTIANS

The Bristol Partnership is the Local Strategic Partnership in Bristol and has been formed to improve local services and quality of life. Local Strategic Partnerships have been set up across England and Wales to:

*               Produce a Community Strategy to improve the social, economic and environmental well-being of people in their area and contribute towards sustainable development in the UK;

*               Bring together plans, partnerships and initiatives to help make sure that services are better co-ordinated, responsive to peoples' needs and are mindful of the needs of future generations;

*               Work with local authorities to devise and reach targets in Local Public Service Agreements and develop and deliver Neighbourhood Renewal Strategies.

They want representatives from Faith organisations to be involved, ISR is represented.

 

ADOPT A COUNCILLOR OR MP AND PRAY FOR THEM

 

1Tim: 2:1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– 2for kings and all those in authority

All Councillors, MPs and MEPs for Bristol are listed on the Bristol City Council website:

http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk/

 

CAN WE LEARN FROM ISLAM IN BRISTOL?

In the last year in the Windmill Hill area two local  men have converted from Christianity to Islam and now attend the mosque in Totterdown. There are large numbers of Afro Carribean men converting to Islam in London. There is a mosque prominently positioned at the M32 gateway to Bristol. A Christian councillor earlier in the year had to cancel a ‘God in the Park’ type event to make way for an Islamic outreach event. Islam is represented increasingly at every level of of business, local government, central government and seeks influential positions. In public places or government institutions, there is an obligation to provide Islamic prayer rooms whereas Christians are not granted this same privilege. It took 6 years for Turkey the centre of the early church to transfer from Christianity to Islam. Across the UK statistics show mosques are being opened at a similar rate to churches being closed. A prophecy has been given that Christians in the UK have abdicated their responsibility to God for their nation and have allowed foreign Gods in to take power. Whilst Moslems and Christians have much in common – do we want to lose our nation’s Christian heritage or will we stand up for our faith? We should not be intimidated by laws of political correctness. As Christians we need to pray that we will be relevant to society and be building God’s Kingdom in the world, rather than often hide in our churches with insular spirituality. Pray for the Christian heritage of Bristol and the UK to upheld and to be re-established in all walks of life.

 

PROPOSED RELIGIOUS HATRED LAW could remove your RELIGIOUS FREEDOM and SEND you to  JAIL!

The Government wants to bring in a new law against 'inciting religious hatred'. According to the Christian Institute (see website - www.christian.org.uk/) the proposals would have a serious impact on freedom of speech. But the proposal is opposed by people of many different religions and none. A religious hatred law would harm religious liberty and freedom of speech. The Government first proposed this law in 2001 – following the terrorist atrocities of September 11th. The Home Secretary argued that the law was needed to deal with the reported problem of attacks on mosques and to protect people from verbal abuse and physical attack because of their religion. But following widespread criticism and two defeats in the House of Lords the Government dropped the plans. The Christian Institute says though we appreciate the Government’s good motives we are against a religious incitement law because:

§         It will harm freedom of speech. It has the potential to criminalise ordinary religious debate. It will have a massive ‘chilling effect’ on free speech.

§         The Attorney General and judges should not be required to adjudicate on people’s religious beliefs.

§         Protection already exists for all people regardless of religion. It is currently a criminal offence to incite a crime against another person, whether or not religion is the cause. And in 2001 Parliament passed new laws creating religiously aggravated offences.

The proposed law is vague in definition and full of uncertainty. Somebody may take the view that a sermon on the uniqueness of Christ as the way of salvation incites religious hatred in a member of the congregation. The police, the Attorney General and possibly the criminal courts may thus become involved in deciding whether this was so. This might seem unlikely now, but what will happen in five, ten or twenty years’ time? On 17 December 2004, two Christian pastors in Australia were found guilty of ‘religious vilification’ because they criticised Islam. A court  found that the two pastors had breached section 8 of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 which bans conduct which “incites hatred. The Islamic Council of Victoria filed a legal action against the pastors. This case shows that an ‘incitement to religious hatred’ offence is likely to be used by some well-organised religious groups.

PRAY FOR JESUS VISION OF UNITY AMONGST CHURCHES & CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES IN BRISTOL

As in John 17

Pastor  Steve Smith of Fellowship of the King writes:  the recent Leaders meeting organised by ‘Winning Ways’ was a real testimony to how much genuine unity there is already among God's people in the city.

The presence of such good foundations inevitably gives rise to the question: What next? The question arises What would the kind of unity that Jesus is praying for in John 17 actually look like if it were to happen in Bristol? Or, put the other way round, what would it take for a visitor to the churches of the city to go away again saying, “The church in Bristol really is united in the way that Jesus prayed”? I sense that perhaps this is an appropriate time for us to be addressing such a question, precisely because of what has been so faithfully achieved so far. Of course I do not feel confident that I know the answer, and probably none of us does in any detail, but we are encouraged to ask God who gives to all people generously and without reproaching. And I am 100% certain that God has an answer to the question, because otherwise Jesus' prayer would not make sense for the city of Bristol! What we need is both vision and wisdom. Vision is about the outcome and it is what motivates us. The prospect of the harvest motivates the farmer; the house that exists at the moment only in the builder's mind is what leads him to get up every morning and head for the site. So it is good for us also to have vision, to invite God to speak to us in our imaginations, to show us some of the things that would/ could/ should be in place, in this case the things that would lead to that positive response from our imaginary visitor. I suppose the vision would be the things that the visitor would see and hear about and experience for him- or herself on their visit to the church in Bristol. Wisdom on the other hand is about how we get the vision fulfilled. Some of it will be obvious and some of it will require specific insights from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we'll think we have wisdom and actually we're getting it all wrong! When this happens people are often tempted to give up on the vision itself but, if the vision is from God, that is a big mistake! This is a good reason for separating out the vision from the wisdom. We should not reject the vision and carry on putting up with bad situations because we can't see the way through. On the contrary, if we have not only God's wisdom but Jesus himself on our side, then surely we should persevere in prayer both for the revelation of the vision and for the accompanying wisdom which will help us, working together under God, to bring about the fulfilment of Jesus' prayer in the city.

 Here are some possible prayer points:

1.    To thank God for the genuine heart for unity that there is already in the city and for those who have been facilitating it (not forgetting Bishop Mike also!)

2.    To pray that this unity and the heart for it would not in any way be lost but would continue to grow;

3.    To pray that we would come to know more of God's vision for the unity of his people in this city

4.    To pray for God's wisdom to know how we can faithfully continue to work towards the fulfilment of  his heart's desire for his people in this city.

 

PRAY FOR LARGE CHURCHES TO HELP SMALLER STRUGGLING CHURCHES IN MORE DIFFICULT AREAS OF CITY

There are churches all over the city dying and not far from closing and the fact that many of the livelier churches do not doing much to assist? Unity needs to go alot deeper in terms of sharing resources, people, musicians, economics, buildings etc.

Pray about unity/support amongst struggling and vibrant churches and praying for the revival of dying churches (there are likely to be 50+ dying churches full of elderly people, who's churches have been going for 100+ years) in Bristol where possible and for the working together of the old and the young congregations/Christians in their different church streams; for the re-opening of the Wells of the Spirit and Revival; Also pray for churches in one area to work together & that any barriers preventing this will be removed; Pray for a greater release of the Holy Spirit in all Christian work and churches in the city

 

Pray for Christians working in secular music and art scenes in the city to be effective & to make an impact.

Pray for Christian leaders to link up with the Watchmen and intercessors of the city.

Pray for effective Christian influence through the public institutions .....

 

PRAYER MEETINGS ACROSS THE CITY

Bristol and District Evangelical Alliance - At St. Mary's Church, Shirehampton, Bristol on Monday  21st February 2005 at 7.30 - 9.45pm contact Paul 0117 950 1951

PRAYER FOR EASTON

This inter-church group meets at Easton Community Centre on the 4th Thursday in the month.  27th Jan, 24 Feb,  24 March. Contact Penny on tel. 935 05 83

 

PRAYER FOR BEDMINSTER

Meets 1st Saturday of every month at 10.30am in a different venue – currently we are going round the churches.

Next one is: March 5th at Salem Chapel, Trefalgar Terrace, Hardy Road,

 

Methodist Call to Prayer Sun. 27th February 2005 St. Andrew's, Filton 3.00 pm - 7.00 pm - Derrick Norton 01249  650791 djnorton@zoom.co.uk - An afternoon of prayer?  When we are so busy anyway?  Following the example of Jesus and the saints  throughout the history of the church, we need to remind ourselves how important it is to sit at the feet of Jesus - to be a "Mary" as well as a "Martha". We will worship and pray together and discover more about:-"Where are we Heading?"   "Who are we under God?" "What is our Calling?"    A creche is available. There will be "Prayer Streams"available comprising of Labyrinth, 24/7, Ignatian, Prayer for Revival, Quiet Zone, Circle Dance Prayer, Prayer Walk, Creative Prayer, Improving my Church's Prayer Life.

 

BIBLE SOCIETY OUTREACH IN APRIL,

Bristol 2005 is gathering momentum as more and more churches are partnering with the Bible Society for this campaign to culture, seeking to communicate the importance of the Bible to modern day society.   It is hoped that local churches will creatively develop their ideas for relevant events which will make the most of the opportunities the campaign will bring.  Story tellers, Freddie Kofi (Singer/ Songwriter), Street Bible Theatre Company and others are available for churches to use. We need prayer, 16 February ‘I hate politics but care about the world’ (personal passions and political involvement – making the connections) and 2 March ‘Creative Hustings (engaging with the General Election).  These are at St. John’s Church Hall, Lodge Causeway, Bristol, 8-9.30pm with Chris Sunderland and all are welcome.  We are also launching a course immediately after Easter, to help people to engage people with their faith called ‘Bridge the Gap’ which was devised by Agape, in conjunction with Luke Walton at Christ Church, Clifton. Please pray for the Steering Group who are advising Bible Society, to make the campaign as effective as possible, NGM (New Generation Ministries) a partner of Bible Society, who aim to launch Luv Esther (a Pop Opera) as part of the campaign.  The provisional date is 24th May at the Colston Hall and we await confirmation.  There will also be a showcase event at the Council House on June 4th when Bishop Mike will be one of the speakers.  The Water Shed have yet to confirm the dates for a mini film festival, but we are praying that 6th-8th May will be possible.  This will run in conjunction with other films showing at ‘The Orpheus’, Henleaze.  Other partnerships are currently developing and we need sensitivity in the handling of negotiations.Pray that the media advertising will engage people and impact the whole population of Bristol and that churches will be able to get posters, plus beer mats into as many neutral venues as possible. Pray for Rob Cotton’s protection as he travels, for more speaking opportunities and for his family whilst he is away from home.    

GEOGRAPHIC STRATEGY - RAISING UP PRAYER Leaders FOR AREAS ACROSS THE CITY -Pray for God to raise Prayer up Prayer leaders and Prayer groups to pray for every area of the city who can network with local churches and local Christian ministries and who can assist with Community Transformation.

I VOW TO BEAT THE BRISTOL YARDIES – 3rd Feb Western Daily Press

 

Campaigning Christian Dawnecia Palmer last night revealed she is planning a personal crusade to halt the flow of deadly drugs on to Bristol's streets.The Church minister, who has launched a one-woman campaign against yardie gangs in St Paul's, is travelling to the crime-plagued streets of Jamaica. Dawnecia patrols the streets of Bristol offering dealers and addicts help and advice, and when she arrives in Jamaica's notorious capital Kingston, she aims to personally persuade the next generation of youngsters to turn away from drugs and violence."Something must be done," she said. "Since blame goes to Jamaica, it is best we tackle it there." Pray for Dawnicea as she goes to Jamaica with an ITV television crew to tackle the Yardies and set up Prayer patrol teams there. Pray for her protection.

 

PRAYER PATROL TEAM

Dawnecia would like more people to train and join the Prayer Patrol team. She has set up a Prayer Patrol in Nottingham, & now Aberdeen is interested.In Bristol about 12 people patrol occasionally & 2 or 3 regularly

 

PRAYER WALL needs - WEBSITE UPDATE and ADMINISTRATION

We still need to update our website, which despite hugh efforts has not happened yet. Please pray God will send the right people with the time and commitment to finish off the new website and to maintain it on a regular basis.

We still need more help with administration for the prayer wall too.

 

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CONTACT: 0117 9427303  www.BristolPrayerWall.org.uk – PS. If you receive a posted hard copy of the Prayer Wall Bulletin please remember to send your £5 per year to cover postage and photocoping to The Treasurer, 48 Arnall Drive, Bristol BS10 7AP



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