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2021 Diocesan Day of Prayer Review

Some reflections from our 24-hour of focused prayer on 23^rd and 24^th April 2021

"As we follow Christ in the footsteps of St Chad, we pray that the two million people in our diocese encounter a church that is confident in the gospel, knows and loves its communities, and is excited to find God already at work in the world. We pray for a church that reflects the richness and variety of those communities. We pray for a church that partners with others in seeking the common good, working for justice as a people of hope."

(Diocesan Vision Statement)

It is exactly 6 months since our last Diocesan Day of Prayer and we were excited to see the way Shaping for Mission has developed since those early days.

We very much appreciated the higher level of engagement from our Deaneries. Once again, we were impressed by the quality and variety of contributions; via Zoom, livestreaming, YouTube as well as in-person groups including prayers by St Chad’s Well. We were encouraged by the support of our brothers and sisters overseas, including Bishop Steve Diseko who had mobilised people across Matlosane Diocese to pray for Lichfield, and Archdeacon Catherine Harper and Bishop Rob Hardwick from the Diocese of Qu’Appelle who had assured us that they would be covering us in prayer.

Revd Anthony Jude Arul gathered a group from his church in Penang to pray for us. It was moving to be reminded by Bishop Michael, during the closing prayers, of the martyrdom of seven of the Melanesian Brotherhood in the Solomon Islands just 18 years ago – a real challenge to us as we seek to be missionary disciples.

Some of the highlights of the day were the wonderful video produced by the pupils of Holy Trinity School, Burton for the Tutbury Deanery and thought provoking powerpoints from REVS and Transforming Communities Together, livestreaming from Telford, Trysull and West Bromwich deaneries and various contributions to our Diocesan Facebook group. We were also very pleased to be supported by Diocesan departments, and by staff and friends of Lichfield Cathedral. We were delighted to have a dedicated Zoom room throughout the 24-hour period and hope that the next time we will see it occupied for the whole time.

We look forward, in the coming weeks, to hearing about the impact the Day of Prayer has had on our deaneries; for example, Oswestry Deanery used this as an opportunity to launch a deanery prayer group. Please encourage people to use the Weekly Diocesan Prayer Diary which is currently going through the Deaneries in turn and praying for their engagement with Shaping for Mission.

Week by week, the Diocesan Prayer Diary gives ideas to encourage our praying with a focus on a different Deanery each week. Email Denise to receive the Prayer Diary regularly.

Throughout these 24 hours, we have been humbled as we have heard of the work of some of your people, endeavouring to make a difference to the communities in which you have placed them.
We have been excited by the diverse and innovative ways in which people have prayed – showing the range of passions, abilities, callings and confirming how very different we all are and yet our causes for concern are so often similar.
Lord, may the deaneries, small groups and individuals who have taken part, be encouraged by the knowledge that their 30 minutes has been multiplied throughout the day, so that we will all have a real sense of unity, of being a small part of something much larger and more effective.
Lord, we praise and thank you for the intercessors who have diligently named your people and their ministries.
For the insights gained about the roles of colleagues as concerns have been shared and prayed over.
For the self-awareness expressed by deaneries who recognise the need for change and who are trying hard to find positive ways to move forward together with a common aim of serving their communities.
As this time comes to an end, please let us not forget the joy of having met to pray together – but instead encourage us to find ways to continue and develop this precious gift, and ways to share it more widely with parishes, benefices and deaneries.
Father we pray your blessings on both those who have offered prayers and for the people and situations for whom they have prayed, giving special thanks for our wider family in Christ who have prayed with and for us from different time zones and cultures. We boldly ask for the encouragement of answered prayer, that we will see your spirit move through our diocese as we seek to be Shaped for your Mission – cleansing and renewing, sweeping away that which is not needed and only serves to hold us back, and so making space for new and better things yet to be revealed, that we cannot even imagine. Amen.

(Prayer used during the closing service of the Day of Prayer)

Page last updated: Tuesday 4th May 2021 8:59 AM