Newsletter
– April 2005
CONTENTS:
- ANSWERS TO PRAYER
- BIBLE SOCIETY CITYWIDE OUTREACH CAMPAIGN –
list of events to pray for
- PRAYER MEETINGS and events
- Bedminster
- Hartcliffe
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.8TH April - 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. Contact Pastor Edson – mob.
Colossians,ch.3 v16, 17Let the words of
Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise.
Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or
say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while
giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Matthew 8.18-19
"And I tell you more: whenever two of you
on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by
my Father in heaven."
Regenerate. Clive says “Thank you very much
“Bricks”, for your prayers for the Schools Assemblies Team from Yate,
Chipping Sodbury and YMCA. Since the last newsletter, they now have
access to three more junior and one more secondary school.”
Let us keep on praying for all the school
projects that this generation will have the opportunity to hear and
respond to the wonderful Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Methodist Prayer Day
Bristol District Call to Prayer - St. Andrew’s
Church, Filton 27th Feb 05
The Bristol District
Call to Prayer turned out to be a challenging and inspiring occasion
supported by at least 200 people of all ages from Bristol,
Gloucestershire, Somerset
and Wiltshire.
The congregation queued
to get into St. Andrew’s Church Filton on the northern edge of the
City, to register their prayer group preferences. In welcoming the
gathering Chair of the Bristol
District the Rev Ward Jones noted “when did you last see people queuing
to get into Church? It’s great to see so many here!”
After the opening
worship time the gathering split into one of seven “prayer streams”.
They were called; Ignatian Way of Praying, Creative Prayer, Labyrinth
& Quiet Zone, 24/7 Prayer Style, Prayer for Revival, Improving my
Church’s Prayer Life, and Bristol 2005 – the latter highlighting the
imminent Bible Society media campaign in Bristol.
District and
Connexional leaders gave valued input and spirit filled prayer
opportunities which were much appreciated.
One speaker the Rev Graham Horsley said “If God wants
to get the Church on its feet he first of all gets it on its
knees!”After an hour with one prayer group people then moved on to
attend a second, and clearly some regretted not being able to
experience more of what was on offer.
After a short tea break
the evening service brought proceedings to a close. The church was full, the singing
uplifting, and the Chair of District Rev. Ward Jones spoke, focusing on
the theme of “The Leaves of the Tree are for the Healing of the
Nations”.
Organiser,
Bristol District Evangelism Enabler Derrick Norton said, “When
people left they were asking for more, so you know you’ve had a
successful time! God is
encouraging a new season of prayer and with the Methodist
Church
“Year of Prayer” in the offing; there is every opportunity to build on
this event. Watch this
space!"
Bible
Society Campaign on Saturday 12th March the Bristol
Prayer Wall meeting at Jesus
Kingdom City
Church,
although poorly attended, was very informative and exciting, and it was
a good time of prayer.
This Campaign will run in Bristol
for 6 weeks from Monday 18th April
The Prayer Wall would encourage every church
and every Christian to use the opportunities this outreach offers to
encourage people to think and talk about the Bible in ways that are
culturally relevant. How can we show the importance of the Bible in
areas such as politics, media, arts and education?
We will soon be seeing campaign posters all
over Bristol,
as well as radio ads on GWR.
FILMS will be shown at the Watershed, exploring
spirituality; - pray for the communication with the manager there and
for his recovery from ill health.
CIRCUS production inspired by the Bible at the
St. Pauls church, which is being converted into a Circus school. This
will be their first production there.
POP OPERA called ” Luv Esther”, based on the
life of Esther will be performed by NGM at the Colston Hall, and will
be touring the country. Theme “For such a time as this”.
PLAY “Five sides of a circle” a play exploring
the origination of the Gospels, will be performed at the Tobacco
Factory in North St Bedminster - May 10-14
DEBATE At the Council House Saturday 4th
June. “Whose government is it anyway?”
“MIND THE GAP” a course of 6 weeks from Wed. 6th
April, at Christchurch Clifton to prepare for this campaign, and help
us to engage with today’s culture.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS EVENT – featuring Chris Sunderland
with story telling and Naomi Knapp and team on discussions on ‘Living
in a Strange
Land’
– May 29th – pray for the rignt venue and a good attendance
FILM ON INTERVIEWS WITH the general Bristol
Population about what a cross section of Bristolians have to say about
the bible and what their favourite verse is etc. – pray for Henrick the
film director.
SOUTHVILLE ARTS FESTIVAL – contributions in
this secular festival by Christian artists, the Halo studio and Richard
Shepherd, Raymend Clee – pray for God to favour with the city council
and other anti-Christian bodies.
There are many, many other events happening –
let us know if you know of others.
AGORA in partnership
with Bible Society presents
Pray for Chris
Sunderland and the others organising these events and for good
attendance
TUES
19 APRIL DOES RELIGION ENCOURAGE VIOLENCE?
Some see
faith as a great motivation for good in local communities and a
potential
source of vision for politics. Others look at regions of
conflict
around the world and say faith is the problem not the solution.
What do
you think?Venue: The Tobacco Factory, Green Room;Time: 8.00
pm - 9.30 pm
More
information: Chris Sunderland - 0117 957 4652
SUN
24 APRIL THE PASSOVER MEAL
Come and
enjoy food, singing and dancing in celebration of the Passover Meal and
at the same
time
engage in a lively conversation exploring the power of story to build
community life. Where do I belong?
Everyone
is welcome. Children friendly.
Venue: St
Michael's Church, Vivian Street, Windmill Hill, Bedminster
Time: 5-8pm;admission: Tickets £3.50 adult,
£2.00 children;Booking: 0781 727 4448
APRIL
26 DEVELOPING TRUST IN AN ANXIOUS WORLD
Cynicism
about politics? Compensation culture? Suspicion toward authority?
Breakdown of
relationships
– are we witnessing a serious erosion of trust in our society? Join us
in an
interactive
conversation about how to develop a realistic trust in our modern world.
Venue: Horfield Methodist Church, Corner of Gloucester Road & Churchways Avenue, BS7 8SN
Time: 7.30pm Free admission
MAY
29 LIVING IN A FOREIGN LAND
Enjoy a
meal full of international flavours and lively conversation about
issues facing those living
in a
strange country. Especially for international students and visitors -
an opportunity to build
friendships,
including music and maybe even dance!Venue: to be confirmed;Time: 1pm; To reserve your place email:
internationals@blueyonder.co.uk
SAT
JUNE 4 THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY IN BRISTOL
Come and
take part in a public conversation seeking vision for democracy in Bristol – to include
key city
leaders, opinion formers and local politicians. Details of invited
guests will be posted on
the
website as they confirm their attendance.
Venue:
The Conference Hall, Bristol City Council House;Time: 8.00 pm;Free Admission
For more
information please contact Chris Sunderland on 0117 9574652 or Rob
Cotton on 0115 8411480/ 07766075486
PLEASE PRAY for the leaders as they prepare and
plan and work with local churches and communities, and that God will
open minds and hearts in our City, that have not even thought much
about Him before.
For more information
WWW.biblesociety.org.uk/bristol
Email bristolcampaign@biblesociety.org.uk for any ideas, comments or queries
MONDAYS: CAMPAIGN
MEDIA Please pray:
- For the
team making the final decision about the storylines to the used in the
media. That the storylines will be as up to date and relevant as
possible, so that the media campaign will speak clearly to the Bristol people and intrigue them to find out more.
- For the
effective production of leaflets and resource materials to promote and
support the campaign and help envision and inform churches.
TUESDAYS: STEERING
GROUP Please pray:
- For the
churches that are currently planning mission training and follow up
evangelism. That people will be available and able to spend time
finalising these programmes and that they will be able to reach out to
people seeking to respond to the campaign.
- For
churches to be able to set up networks and start conversations.
- For Rob,
Steve, Chris and Beth as they put together the final plans.
- For Helen
Flower, Head of Communications at Bible Society who has broken her leg
ski-ing in France.
WEDNESDAYS: CHURCH
LEADERS Please pray:
- For all
the churches organising events including St Michael’s Church, Horfield
Methodist Church, Redland Park URC, Fishponds Baptist Church, Christ
Church Clifton, Pip ’n’ Jay, Bristol City Church, Lawrence Hill
URC/Methodist Church, Alma Church, Woodlands Christian Centre and
others.
THURSDAYS: PUBLIC
RELATIONS Please pray:
- For
meetings taking place over the next two weeks with the Editors of the
Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press and Producers at BBC Radio
Bristol and GWR. That strong relationships will be built up and that
people will understand the objectives of the campaign and help to
maximise coverage.
Give thanks:
- For the
support we are already receiving through the Christian press in Bristol and through contacts at GWR.
FRIDAYS: EVENTS Please pray:
- For the
effective printing and distribution of the Kaleidoscope
programme of events.
- For the
distribution of posters and beer mats across the communities, that
these will help to get people talking.
- For the
artists contributing to the programme of events as they prepare,
including Freddie Kofi, Andy Harrison and Angela Knowles.
Bristol
Community Family Trust. Harry Benson says that 2 new courses
starting for parents. April 13 for 6 wed. evenings for parents of
teenagers, April 12 for 6 consecutive mornings for parents of 6-11 year
olds. Phone; 9241480
Wholeness through Christ Awareness Day,
will be held at Redland church hall Sat.16th April. A small
team from Southampton are
coming to explain this ministry of healing and deliverance to heal and
help people walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ.
JESUS KINGDOM CITY CHURCH needs a bigger
facility in the city centre as they have outgrown their present
premises. Please pray the Lord will direct them to the right place.
The Church @Bristol, Transformation 05, Plug
into the Power.
This is a citywide conference being planned by Jesus
Kingdom City
Church.
It will be held at the Colston Hall, September
15-18 this year.
Please pray for the planning of this event, and
that it will be for the blessing of the whole church in Bristol.
FAITHWORKS
– pray for Faithworks to assist churches and Christian groups in the
city to be reaching out to the communities and people groups around the
city and for Bristol City Council to be more supportive of Christian
initiatives and social action projects and for a local Faithworks body
to be set up to facilitate this – see website http://www.church.co.uk/
John Mulinde from Uganda is speaking at
the Hope Centre on Wed April 13th at 8pm. You need to phone to
book seats, as it may be difficult to get in. John is speaking on “The
Call of the Hour”, and he always brings a challenging word from the
Lord for our time.
Pray for the Harvest
WITHOUT WALLS
This will be outside Lloydsamphitheatre on
April 16th 2-4pm
The region’s largest prayer gathering with
Philip Jinadu, to pray for our friends and neighbours to come to faith
in Christ.
PRAYER FOR BEDMINSTER –
affiliated to JAB – Joint Action Bedminster
Pray for representatives from
all the local Bedminster churches to join in the prayer.
We usually meet
4th or 5th Saturday of the month as some people said they could not
normally make the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Saturday and
are moving round
the different Bedminster churches. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO COME - ring
0117 9427303 or 07785900527 or email:nknapp@blueyonder.co.uk for
further details.
DATES
FOR future Bedminster Prayer meetings: 9.30 am April 30th, May 28th at
Southville Methodist Church, Stackpool Rd in the tower overlooking the
area, June 18th
and July 30th - time 9.30am except June which is 8.30am, venues to be arranged. In
September we will be having a week of 24/7 prayer for
Bedminster/Southville area in conjunction with the national Methodist
initiative.
Continue
to pray for:
JOINT ACTION
BEDMINSTER - EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN/PROGRAMME FOR NEXT YEAR
OPEN AIRS - Colin
and Laurie;LEAFLETS - Less, Graham and Derik;ALPHA COURSE - Michael and
Brendan;COMMUNITY SURVEY - Polis and Naomi;BIBLE SOCIETY EVENTS IN
BEDMINSTER AREA - Southville Arts festival; Tobacco Factory play - five
sides of a circle;Internationals event; Tobacco factory - debate on
violence
REVIVAL &
YOUTH;EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT CHRIST IN THE AREA
SEEK GOD'S AGENDA
AND NOT OUR OWN;SIMPLICITY & SENSITIVITY;PUBS
SCHOOLS &
Christian teachers;Wills Tobacco company and Drugs;East street and God
coming to visit;Tower of Babel and New age influence in the area;TAKE
GROUND BACK from the devil
RELATIONSHIPS
not religion; Nehemiah - Christians to take responsibility for area and
what goes on and to Rebuild the walls of the Christian faith in the
area which have been eroded over time;
PASSION
FOR GOD VS. FOOTBALL idolatry - football ;Chaplains of Ashton Gate -
football originated via churches; FOR MORE COMMUNITY IN AREA;RID
BEDMINISTER OF TRAUMA and DISAPPOINTMENT;REPENTANCE &
HEALING/REDEEMING OF THE LAND ;2 Chronicles 7: 14; (if my people who
are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face I will come and heal the land....
Intercession by lifestyle; Revival;UNITY OF CHRISTIANS in AREA;
PERSEVERANCE - PRAY & DONT GIVE UP Youth; Christian artists;
House groups & discipleship; FOR
CHRISTIANS NOT TOO LOSE GROUND IN AREA ie. many churches
currently closing or full of elderly; SPIRITUAL MAPPING OF AREA; North
st, East St and shopping areas; FAMILIES & Christians & child
contact centre; JAB - JOINT ACTION BEDMINSTER - United churches
outreaches; Lordship of Jesus Isaiah 58 and
is.61; Psalm 46
THE LIGHTHOUSE GROUP ON THE HARTCLIFFE
& WITHYWOOD ESTATES are trying to organize a time to share
their vision and hopefully get your prayer support. Would any of
you be able to make Mon. 4th April? If you can get here for 6.30pm we could take you on
a quick tour!! If not meet at 7.30pm
at my house (address below). If you could let me know asap if you could
make it and if not it doesn't seem possible we will arrange another
time later on. Thanks for you interest in us, Jenny Low Rachael
Schofield Heather Williams Revd. Jenny Low Curate, St.Andrew's
Church,Hartcliffe, Bristol
BS13 0EE 0117 9041636
BRISTOL AND DISTRICT
EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE PRAY FOR BRISTOL
Wednesday 11 May 2005 7.30-9.45pm at St. Mary's
Church, Church Lane,
Henbury
Bristol Prayer Wall aims to be a servant to the
Church in Bristol, by making known and sharing in prayer for projects
and problems that are present every sphere of life in the area.
Whenever you have an item you wish to bring to the attention of others
for prayer, please email us on; bristolprayerwall@blueyonder.co.uk, or phone 0117 9246856
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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