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All the information on this page is available on two leaflets, an Invitation to Pray  and a Prayer Card. You can also use the Prayer Thought for w/c 19.9.08. Listen to Rector's teaching on giving: 'Investing in the Kingdom of God'. Read the article about the Day of Commitment in the December 2008 edition of the Church Magazine. Gemma Machin and Kat Witham have put together a video based on the words of the song God of this City. The video highlights the many things we have achieved at St Thomas' but reminds us there are many things God wants us to do. Watch the video here  Download the words here
Let us be under no illusion—we are praying for a miracle. As you know I’ve spent the first 100 days as Rector listening—some things have taken time to hear and discern, others have been written large in ten-metre high neon letters. The need to quickly develop the parish centre is one of those, to do this we need to overcome many hurdles, not least the need to release a significant amount of money. I believe our ability to develop this facility will be the single most significant factor in shaping our future. If we are unable to build, and soon, our ability to function as an effective church will quickly be eroded. Our children’s ministry will be the first to suffer but it certainly wont be the last— every area of our church’s life depends on having new space to grow and flourish. One thing I know for sure is that the Kingdom of God is never extended through charity but only by the blood, sweat and tears of God’s people faithfully and sacrificially giving. This giving begins in ‘giving ourselves’ to pray like we have never prayed as a church before! I don’t doubt for a moment that many prayers have already been said but we need to pray, pray and then pray some more. And so here we are, a few weeks away from our call to financially commit to this project. I don’t know how God plans to provide the funds we need, but I do know that if we don’t fervently give ourselves to prayer we have no hope of achieving that which we so desperately need to do. We must begin and end our giving in prayer. Prayer must saturate all that we do. Our plans must be soaked in prayer. Prayer quite simply is the key. In this build -up to our commitment Sunday (12th Oct) I invite you to join with me in a season of prayer that will take us forward in this extraordinary journey of faith that God has invited us to be a part of for as we pray miracles happen. Yours in Christ, Rev Matt Barnes, Rector Psalm 127:1 [A song of ascents. Of Solomon.] Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Matthew 18:19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Matthew 7:7 [Ask, Seek, Knock] "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Please commit to use the prayers below and pray for 10 minutes per day for the parish centre project. -Praise God for all that he has done in the past, for His faithfulness and love to our Church. -Ask God for the needs of the day. -Thank God for all He will do and all that will be achieved through the new centre. -Listen to what God might be saying to you, share it with the Church if appropriate. There will be a prayer wall in Church where God’s words spoken to us as we pray can be displayed for the Church’s encouragement. Monday Pray that all permissions are granted swiftly and without undue delay. These include Planning Permission, Faculty Permission and a Pastoral Measure. Pray peace and understanding for those who might be opposed to this development. Tuesday Pray for the development team that they may have courage, strength, faith, wisdom and time to do all that is necessary: Paul Benson (Group leader and chair), Emma Atkinson, Matt Barnes, Bernard Blanksby, Angela Gregory, Phil Johnson, Karen and Phil Riley. Wednesday Pray for all the groups who will benefit from our centre from Tom’s Tots (formerly tot-zone) right through to Rendevous and beyond! Thursday Pray for Brampton parish and for all the mission opportunities we will be able to realise once we have the right facilities. Friday Pray that £450,000 in cash (£300k or more) and pledged (£150k or more) will be given and that the project will not be held up by lack of finances. Pray that people in the face of the credit-crunch would not loose heart and believe that God will meet their needs as they faithfully meet the needs of the Church. Saturday Pray for the design and construction team. Give them wisdom and vision to create a centre that will serve the Church for many, many years. Pray for the procurement procedure – pray that the right group of designers, contractors, suppliers, installers, etc .. come together at the right time. Sunday Pray for an out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon our Church and this community that we might be a blessing to Brampton and beyond. Pray that we may not only talk about ‘Good News’ but we might be strengthened in being ‘Good News’ through the parish centre. Saturday 4 October—10am-2pm Sunday 5 October 2-4pm or at another time suitable to yourself (please let the office know when you propose to work on site.) Come and physically ‘prepare the ground’ as we begin to clear the proposed development site of overgrowth. This symbolic act will help us practically and spiritually ‘see’ the centre emerge. Once your work is done there will be opportunity to ‘stake your prayer’ into the ground by hammering in a personalised peg. You are invited to come at a time suitable to yourself and clear an area of ground (you chose what you’re capable of). Short litany cards will be available to begin your ground clearance, thus making every spade a prayer! If you’re unable to dig you are still very welcome to come and spend some time in prayer— the Church and ‘make your own refreshments’ will be available all day. 7.30pm Friday 10 to 7.30pm Saturday 11 October 24-hours of intense prayer incorporating prayer and worship services, around the clock prayer cover and opportunity to inhabit the land! The bible is full of examples of God’s people claiming (or reclaiming) that which they believe belongs to them in faith. We need to reclaim our church grounds for a new purpose ... Historically the land surrounding our church has been given over as a place of rest for the departed. Our prayer is that part of our land may be released to give peace, rest and a place for the living to grow in faith! Friday, 10 October 7.30pm - Evening prayer and worship -the start of 24 hours of prayer. Listen here to a recording 8.30pm—All together around the campfire . View pictures here Saturday, 11 October 12noon—mid-day Eucharist. 7pm Evening celebration -the end of 24 hours of prayer. Listen here to a recording Sign-up for a 15 minute slot of prayer as we create a wave of prayer throughout the day and night. Extra for the brave-hearted! Let your presence be a prayer! We’re inviting people to camp (or caravan) out over night in the church grounds (perhaps on the ground cleared the previous week) as a way of symbolically laying-hold of the land for a new purpose. Camping out could be a really exciting way to incorporate children and young people in our prayer as we invite people of all ages to take up the challenge of prayer. 10.30am a united service at of prayer and celebration as we gather in our financial commitments to the project. View pictures here 6pm Evening Worship
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