June is Pride Month, and June 3-5th specifically marks Durham Pride activities. All Saints is happy to participate as an affirming church and as a member of the Affirming Worship team for the region.

There will be at Multifaith pride service held on June 5th at 12pm at the soccer fields directly north of the Ajax Hospital. Parade is at 1-2pm, and all are welcome to march. All Saints will also be present to help staff the Affirming Worship Durham table from 2-3pm that day.

If you are interesting in assisting at the table please speak to Mother Jennifer. All are welcome!

Toronto Pride parade will be held June 26th at 2pm. Anyone interested in participating can march with Proud Anglicans. More information can be found closer to the event on ProudAnglicans page. The Anglican church will have a float and possibly a bus for those with mobility challenges.

An Invitation to Be a Part of Thy Kingdom Come

I’ve been quietly following the Thy Kingdom Come movement for a few years. In the period between Ascension Day and Pentecost each year, I set aside time each day to pray for five people who I hope will feel called into a relationship with God. They don’t know I’m praying for them. For one of my five, it’s unlikely I would even know if they ended up attending church or believing in God. I haven’t seen that person in three years, but I have always felt they were searching for meaning and I remain certain they might find it by committing to a faith community. Another of my five is such a long-shot for finding Jesus, I am pretty sure God has a good laugh whenever I raise the possibility. But the God I know definitely has a sense of humour and loves a challenge, so I continue to uphold that person.

Last year, as a by-product of the pandemic, All Saints took its Thy Kingdom Come observance to a new platform, using Zoom to offer four online prayer meetings a day at 8am, 12pm, 5pm and 9pm. Each session was just 10 minutes of directed prayer and meditation.

I loved the concept, but for my part I was reluctant to attend. It sounded intense and awkward. I was afraid of being put on the spot. I felt zoomed out as it was, and so I lined up all the reasons why I wouldn’t be free to attend for all the times of day… except for 8am. Since I wasn’t commuting and my home office was permanently set up for online meetings, there wasn’t any real barrier to attending. And so, I did. And I am so glad I did. The 8am session was led by Claire and Jacky Bramma. No pretension. No drama. Just prayer and thoughtful words. I never felt compelled to speak or add anything to any of the ten meetings except to say thanks at the end and wish my fellow attendees a good day. The “five friends” I was praying about were confidential, held in the quiet of my heart as the zoom group was led in prayer. There were a handful of us routinely zooming into that 8am session and a few others that showed up on only one or two of the days. I hear the other sessions also had their regulars, as well as others who moved from one timeslot to another. I think there were even some who joined more than one session in a day.

I can’t tell you how much that 10 minutes nourished me for the rest of the day. I not only prayed for my five people, but also could calm and focus myself on true priorities before launching into the many silly secular distractions of a routine day. I am told some folks preferred the 12pm gathering for the same reason. Others liked the 5pm or night gatherings as a way to frame the rest of their evenings or to reset their hearts and minds before their night’s rest.

I reached out to a few of the folks who I routinely saw at the 8am Zoom session. All were enthusiastic about the experience. Patty Clift shared this with me:

“I found the TKC experience to be very powerful and worthwhile. I know for me personally being together as a group (knowing others were pausing and praying with me at that exact time of the day) was wonderful and calming.  Praying with purpose and focus brings renewal. TKC supports us as we make an investment through prayer, reflection and conviction to help people in our lives to open their minds and hearts to believe and follow Jesus.  I was looking back at some of the many highlights from previous TKC sessions, the performance of ‘We Seek Your Kingdom’ is a favourite. The lyrics…transform, revive and heal society…we can pray for exactly this, knowing our world would be a better place as a result.”

So, this year, I’ll be attending again, perhaps not at 8am since my work schedule has changed. But I’ll be attending each day at some time.

My first TKC prayer would be that at least five people reading this will also choose to attend one of the sessions for the week. Patty feels the same way, too. (So, if you go, tell’em Patty or Arleane sent you and collect a TKC prize … no, not really, that’s not a thing.) But do consider participating. I’d also recommend downloading one of the TKC resources that the church is recommending for your use. There’s a prayer journal and/or a guided reading of nine particular verses in the first letter of St Peter.

And maybe also think of five individuals for whom you could pray intentionally this year from May 26 to June 5, the Thy Kingdom Come days  … perhaps someone who has fallen away from knowing God or attending church, or someone who has an attitude to life that might be further enhanced by being part of a community of faith, or someone whose circumstances might be improved by knowing Jesus. You don’t have to get them there. You just have to pray that it might happen.  As Patty says, we can pray for these things to come to pass, “knowing our world would be a better place as a result.”

Here’s one of many simple prayers from the TKC “Pray for Five Friends’ resource page that you could use:

Lord,
I pray that you will lead [name] to you.
Thank you that you love them. I pray that you would break into their life and show them your love, grace and peace,
for Your glory.
Amen

 Watch the TKC explainer video

Learn more about All Saints’ Thy Kingdom Come sessions and resources