Tuesday, April 13
People are rarely enticed to join something inscrutable. “Why would I join,” they say, “when I don’t even know what it is?”
I keep this in mind when I talk about church life and ministry. Many things about Anglicanism may be unfamiliar to people who are new to the church experience or who come from other traditions. Consider “sidespeople,” “sextons,” and “ambries,” whose meanings are unique to churchland, and by which we mean simply ushers, custodians, and special wall cupboards.
Sometimes we speak of things in terms that no longer describe what’s actually happening. A “Deacon’s Cupboard” is not strictly a cupboard, but rather a collection of foodstuff (usually filling a room), and it can exist even without the presence of deacons in a parish. A Deacon’s Cupboard is, in simple terms, a church-based foodbank. “Vestry” is understood by Anglicans to be the annual general meeting of parishioners. It was so called because such a meeting typically took place in the vestry of early churches. A vestry, incidentally, is a churchy label for the room where the priest put on vestments (that is, liturgical robes). Most modern churches don’t have vestries and if they do, they don’t actually meet in them. All Saints’ zoom Vestry this year was a long way from the robing room, and yet we call it Vestry.
Famously at All Saints, the Evening Guild was created for women who worked during the day and could not come to the scheduled meetings of the women’s Afternoon Guild. Over time the original membership aged and retired and started meeting in the afternoon anyway. For much of its 50 year history, the Evening Guild met in the day, and no one minded the misnomer.
I am quite happy with these historical terms and quirks … as long as they are not a barrier to anyone understanding and wanting to join.
The “Prayer Chain” is one such anachronistic name that might mislead you. Historically it was a chain with one member calling a few others, who then contacted a few others, and so on down the line, like an old-fashioned phone tree. It was a perfect communication solution for its day, but it created a lot of work and ran the risk of people being left out or information delayed. Consider what happens in a prayer chain/phone tree when you can’t reach the person next to you on the tree or chain. You have to try calling them again and again, and until you reach them everybody down the line is in the dark as well. And just try passing information up a chain or tree.
Fortunately with the advent of email, our prayer chain is no longer a chain; it’s more of a “prayer network,” like a social network, with one-click communication to everyone involved.
I mention this because the prayer chain (or should I say “prayer network”) might be something you would contemplate joining … especially now that you understand that it’s not a chain. And it’s not a lot of work. All you need to do is receive an email and pray as instructed. No phone calls. No meetings. No homework. Just prayer.
In fact, let me unpack three of the prayer ministries currently active at All Saints. They each have slightly different membership and mandates, but I invite you to join any or all of them.
PRAYER CHAIN GROUP … now the PRAYER NETWORK
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- what? This group addresses individual prayer needs that are urgent and time-limited, like a diagnosis, surgery, hospital stay, death, job loss, or court date
- how, when, and where? Periodically network members receive an email that says who to pray for, why, and for how long. Members each pray daily in their own way and on their own time for that need. The prayer is that the person may experience healing or peace or comfort; and that their supporters and caregivers will be skilled and tender and equally cared for by God.
Note: Individuals being prayed for by this group are always publicly prayed for at Sunday services (see “Intercessors” below) - why? Because prayer works; prayer makes a difference
- who? You can be a prayer chain team member if you pray, have email (or a phone), and can keep prayer requests confidential.
LONG-TERM PRAYER GROUP
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- what? This group prays regularly for those who have chronic or long-term illness or conditions
- how, when, and where? Members are provided with a list of names of people to pray intentionally on a daily basis. The focus is on comfort and healing for those who are enduring long medical treatments or difficult recoveries, or who are living with persistent pain or discouragement due to sickness.
Note: Individuals being prayed for by this group are always publicly prayed for at the Wednesday midday service - why? Because prayer works; prayer makes a difference
- who? You can be a long-term prayer team member if you pray, have email (or a phone), and can keep prayer requests confidential.
INTERCESSORS … also known as leaders of the Sunday prayers of the people
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- what? Members of this group pray aloud, representing all of us, on Sundays as a regular part of the service
- how, when, and where? This is not as hard as it looks. Intercessors are provided with training and a weekly outline of items to include in the prayers. The prayers follow the same general format each week, always including prayers for the Church, the world, the needs of the community, those who are sick, and the deceased. Prayers can be modified somewhat to your style or for the occasion, or you can use a standardised draft.
- why? Because prayer works; prayer makes a difference
- who? You do need to be a confident reader or public speaker and be prepared to spend some time preparing for the prayers in advance. Presently, you need to be able to join Sunday worship by Zoom.
Hopefully, that makes things less mysterious. At the heart of all this is one of the least complicated aspects of a life of faith … talking with God in prayer. Prayer is like a conversation with someone we love, and someone who loves us.
Healing prayer is good for the people we are praying for, but it is good for us, too. It reminds us that we do not have to go through the trials of life alone. Through prayer, we fulfill Jesus’ call to us to care for others. Through prayer, we glorify God, acknowledging God as trustworthy and powerful. Prayer makes us strong in the promise of God’s love and our surrender in faith to God’s will.
My contention has always been that the number of members in a parish prayer group should be an astonishingly large percentage of the “Vestry” membership or average Sunday turnout. Prayer is the one thing we all engaged in anyway, so it’s not a big leap to join All Saints formal lay orisons ministry … by which I mean, one of the above prayer groups. Let Mthr Jennifer or Joanne know if you are interested.
“The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.” (James 5:16)
A Prayer to Strengthen Your Prayer Life:
Lord, I bow my heart before You and give You honour and praise. Oh God, strengthen my prayer life. Help me to pray more. Nudge me to pray when I’m doing mindless tasks. Help me to truly know who I am in Christ, to understand that You always hear me, to know Your Word so I can pray it, to write down my own prayer needs and the needs of others, and to know that You really do know me. In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.
from crosswalk.com
