It looked like an ordinary garage....
So much so that when Katy and I turned up we went to the wrong house! (Oh well, at least they know there was a prayer room happening now...)
Inside was a light and friendly space, where Gillian and Sarah welcomed us. And there was a list of suggested prayer activities, as suggested by the St Lukes young people. These included hand washing for repentance, and a breathing meditation....
In fact, the whole prayer room had been set up by young people. Nice one, guys!
It was exciting to see more God inspired prayer. And a prayer room that had just sprung up out people's desire to see God's kingdom come. Also, this prayer room meant that were 3 weeks of prayer rooms in the Colchester area in January 2007....great preparation for the St Stephen's prayer room starting on Sunday.
love Richard
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A poem prayer from Christmas 24-7 prayer room
Here I am, not much.
Here you are, everything.
Here I am, in you - safe!
Here I am, in me - dangerous!
Here we are.
Infintessimal and infinite.
Sinner and sacrifice.
Saved and saviour.
Christ in me and I in Christ.
I in Christ and Christ in me.
The hope of glory.
Just like you said.
(John 17:22)
Here you are, everything.
Here I am, in you - safe!
Here I am, in me - dangerous!
Here we are.
Infintessimal and infinite.
Sinner and sacrifice.
Saved and saviour.
Christ in me and I in Christ.
I in Christ and Christ in me.
The hope of glory.
Just like you said.
(John 17:22)
24-7 prayer at Stephen's
Dear Boiler Room supporters,
A 24-7 prayer room is starting at 11am on Sunday 28 Jan and running to noon on Sunday 4 Feb at St Stephen's Church, Canterbury Road, Colchester.
Get involved by booking a slot by contacting Chris on 01206 560822 or popping into the church. Some boiler room folk will be praying there from 6am to 8am on Monday 29 January.
There is a need to fill time slots in the small hours most days. And on Saturday 3 Feb afternoon.
with excitement, Richard
A 24-7 prayer room is starting at 11am on Sunday 28 Jan and running to noon on Sunday 4 Feb at St Stephen's Church, Canterbury Road, Colchester.
Get involved by booking a slot by contacting Chris on 01206 560822 or popping into the church. Some boiler room folk will be praying there from 6am to 8am on Monday 29 January.
There is a need to fill time slots in the small hours most days. And on Saturday 3 Feb afternoon.
with excitement, Richard
Monday, January 15, 2007
Up and coming prayer projects
Hi all Boiler Room Bloggers!
Trust you are all enjoying 2007 so far and you have sense of anticipation of what God is going to do through His church this year. I know I am!
Some dates for your diary and possible 'projects' to think about....
Shockwave: 2nd-4th March
Persecution of the Christian Church is increasing all over the world. Jesus warned us that this would happen - people hated Him so He foreknew that the Church would suffer also. We need to pray and continue to depend on God for strength and wisdom.
We would like to host a prayer vigil over the weekend (2nd-4th March). If you have a particular passion for this theme, and would like to take part in planning and organisation or have a venue in mind, please contact us with e-mail or phone number below.
Click for more: http://www.odshockwave.org/
Stop The Traffik - 18th-25th March
24-7 Prayer are involved in partnership with a movement called Stop The Traffik (STT). As you may know this year 2007 is 200th aniversery of abolition of slave trade and human trafficking. Christians are involved in a campaign all over the world to end the illegal injustice and abuse of human freedom still happening today. This is a high profile national campaign. MTV (the youth music tv station) say it's a "no-brainer" to get involved. ie it's obviously good!
We would like to take part with a week of round-the-clock prayer between 18th and 25th March 2007. The official day of STT campaign is on 25th March. Please contact us if you would like to help in planning of this prayer room, providing a venue, time or other resources.
We are also interested in other creative ideas of promoting the justice campaign. So far we are thinking....
- A Confession Booth - in which followers of Jesus Christ would sit inside and invite people for confessions. Not for them to confess, oh no! The Jesus followers would confess to unbelievers, apologising for acts of cruelty and unkindness, for war and 'The Crusades', for making slaves.... The booth could be set up in the town centre?
Click for more: http://stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx
March will be fast approaching so if we are going to do anything we need to get moving!! Please e-mail Michael Holden: hichael_molden80@hotmail.co.uk or Tel: (01206) 523923
Thanks for your support, much love Michael and Richard
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Prayer on the streets at Christmas
As I came out of the 24/7 Prayer Room at Colchester Baptist Church, Eld Lane a stocky man came running across the forecourt. I did not recognise him at all and thought he was either going to hit me or ask to come in. As he came closer, he seemed distressed and was pressing his head.
The man cried, "You must let me in, I need help".
"How can we help you," I replied. He showed me his forehead with a deep cut just above his left brow. Blood was pouring out. Immediately I helped him put pressure on it and pushed the buzzer for someone to come down from upstairs. Before someone could get down and you could say 'Christmas pudding', two Police Officers arrived, taking over the situation and questioning the man. Jamie McCallister was with me, talking to the military officers. Just as we were leaving the prayer room, Katy Smith arrived to take part in the adventures on that starry Friday night. In the next few minutes there was much activity, giving the injured man a warm and comfortable place to stay a while with coffee and medical attention.
So after we worshipped and prayed to Jesus Christ, the opening opening moments of praying for town centre revellers and party-goers were very busy. God continued to give us opprtunities to serve people of the town and pray for them on the streets between the twighlight hours of 11pm and 3am.
Jamie and I found the experience a little daunting at first, praying around the town on a busy night, starting conversations with people. We most definitely looked a little odd to some revellers in 4 layers of clothes wrapped up like very warm snowmen with scarves, hats and gloves. I still felt a little cold under all that yet people were charging and dancing around, singing under influence of alcohol just wearing thin shirts and skinny skirts.
Doormen became a captive audience for Jamie. He started chatting with them, asking questions, soaking up their stories of incidents that would make you either chuckle, cry or scream out to God. Outside a bar at the bottom of the High Street, I shared with a doorman (or ‘bouncer’ as some may call him) about serving God. I encouraged him that God loves it when people give up their time and energy to do good things for people. This conversation was inspired by Psalm 84, where David wrote he ‘would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than dwell in tents of wicked’.
We gained much information from these chats. It was as though we were spying out the land getting inspiration for talking to God. I reckoned that to be the role of a priest. They hear people’s requests and troubles then take them to God on behalf of them.
While we were on ‘walkabout’ round Colchester town centre, Jamie and I had no clue as to what was happening back at the prayer room. Upon arriving back at 12 a.m. we discovered more activity. A kind man named Dave, on his way home, stopped to help an 18 year old recover from his long night out. Dave brought both him and his friends into the prayer room. They all had coffee and something to eat in a warm place while waiting for a parent to come pick them up. Fascinated by our decorated prayer room with lights, drapes as well as angels and sheep on the wall, they all kept asking questions. We chatted with the party-goers about Jesus, church, God and the universe, praying with them and for them. There were some really significant moments and conversations.
Katy seemed to build a good rapport with one girl. Katy shared stories of Jesus, stories of how she knows the King of kings. Our new-found friend opened up with her ambitions and dreams to be a writer. Dave turned out to be a writer too and a follower of Jesus, with a new-signed 5 book contract. He gave her advice and prayed for her dreams to come true.
These chats and prayers with walking carried on through the night til 3 a.m. It really felt like God had come and walked and talked with us on these adventures of Friday night. Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and God the Father all joined the party! We want to do it again so if you love talking to God about people and love talking to people for God, sharing His love with miracles then please contact us. We are looking for a venue in town centre to use as a base for regular prayer walks on Friday nights.
Please contact Katy Smith for more details….
Tel: (01206) 522781 or e-mail kt_anywhere@hotmail.com
Much love from Michael Holden
The man cried, "You must let me in, I need help".
"How can we help you," I replied. He showed me his forehead with a deep cut just above his left brow. Blood was pouring out. Immediately I helped him put pressure on it and pushed the buzzer for someone to come down from upstairs. Before someone could get down and you could say 'Christmas pudding', two Police Officers arrived, taking over the situation and questioning the man. Jamie McCallister was with me, talking to the military officers. Just as we were leaving the prayer room, Katy Smith arrived to take part in the adventures on that starry Friday night. In the next few minutes there was much activity, giving the injured man a warm and comfortable place to stay a while with coffee and medical attention.
So after we worshipped and prayed to Jesus Christ, the opening opening moments of praying for town centre revellers and party-goers were very busy. God continued to give us opprtunities to serve people of the town and pray for them on the streets between the twighlight hours of 11pm and 3am.
Jamie and I found the experience a little daunting at first, praying around the town on a busy night, starting conversations with people. We most definitely looked a little odd to some revellers in 4 layers of clothes wrapped up like very warm snowmen with scarves, hats and gloves. I still felt a little cold under all that yet people were charging and dancing around, singing under influence of alcohol just wearing thin shirts and skinny skirts.
Doormen became a captive audience for Jamie. He started chatting with them, asking questions, soaking up their stories of incidents that would make you either chuckle, cry or scream out to God. Outside a bar at the bottom of the High Street, I shared with a doorman (or ‘bouncer’ as some may call him) about serving God. I encouraged him that God loves it when people give up their time and energy to do good things for people. This conversation was inspired by Psalm 84, where David wrote he ‘would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than dwell in tents of wicked’.
We gained much information from these chats. It was as though we were spying out the land getting inspiration for talking to God. I reckoned that to be the role of a priest. They hear people’s requests and troubles then take them to God on behalf of them.
While we were on ‘walkabout’ round Colchester town centre, Jamie and I had no clue as to what was happening back at the prayer room. Upon arriving back at 12 a.m. we discovered more activity. A kind man named Dave, on his way home, stopped to help an 18 year old recover from his long night out. Dave brought both him and his friends into the prayer room. They all had coffee and something to eat in a warm place while waiting for a parent to come pick them up. Fascinated by our decorated prayer room with lights, drapes as well as angels and sheep on the wall, they all kept asking questions. We chatted with the party-goers about Jesus, church, God and the universe, praying with them and for them. There were some really significant moments and conversations.
Katy seemed to build a good rapport with one girl. Katy shared stories of Jesus, stories of how she knows the King of kings. Our new-found friend opened up with her ambitions and dreams to be a writer. Dave turned out to be a writer too and a follower of Jesus, with a new-signed 5 book contract. He gave her advice and prayed for her dreams to come true.
These chats and prayers with walking carried on through the night til 3 a.m. It really felt like God had come and walked and talked with us on these adventures of Friday night. Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and God the Father all joined the party! We want to do it again so if you love talking to God about people and love talking to people for God, sharing His love with miracles then please contact us. We are looking for a venue in town centre to use as a base for regular prayer walks on Friday nights.
Please contact Katy Smith for more details….
Tel: (01206) 522781 or e-mail kt_anywhere@hotmail.com
Much love from Michael Holden
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
24/7 Prayer Rooms in January
Arlesford 24/7 update
Marguerite reports that the 24/7 prayer room at St Andrews church in Arlesford has been going well, with most of the slots filled. The prayer room is running until Sunday 7 January.
There are still some slots vacant on Saturday 6 January day time. However, even if you haven't booked a slot you can visit the prayer room.
Call Marguerite or Alex McCann on 01206 826896 for more information.
St Stephen's prayer room
And don't forget there's a 24/7 prayer room at St Stephen's Church between 28 January and 4 February. Contact Chris Liddamore to book a slot on 01206 512845 or email st.stephens@xalt.co.uk
Marguerite reports that the 24/7 prayer room at St Andrews church in Arlesford has been going well, with most of the slots filled. The prayer room is running until Sunday 7 January.
There are still some slots vacant on Saturday 6 January day time. However, even if you haven't booked a slot you can visit the prayer room.
Call Marguerite or Alex McCann on 01206 826896 for more information.
St Stephen's prayer room
And don't forget there's a 24/7 prayer room at St Stephen's Church between 28 January and 4 February. Contact Chris Liddamore to book a slot on 01206 512845 or email st.stephens@xalt.co.uk
Christmas prayer room report
Town Centre Prayer room report
In the week before Christmas 2006, more than 50 people from more than 14 different congregations prayed in the 24/7 prayer room at Colchester Baptist Church, Eld Lane.
Thank you to all those who gave time at this busy time of year to support the prayer room. A big thanks to Lyndsey and Rod, and all the church at Eld Lane who gave us a home when we had “no room at the inn”.
There were some significant times of prayer for both individuals and groups. Also, the prayer room was a base for mission and action with present wrapping for shoppers during late night shopping. Also 6 people from 5 different congregations prayer walked and gave hospitality to late night revellers on Friday night/Saturday morning. Look out for a more detailed report on that eventful night!
A message that I felt through the people's prayers and time in the prayer room was “perseverance”. Several people spoke of coming against the barrier of delay. I feel called on to persevere and breakthrough in the new things of God in 2007.
We were not able to run the prayer room continuously during the whole week. This was because there were not enough people offering to take on time slots, especially the late night/early morning slots.
I felt frustrated that a town centre shop front prayer room was not available, despite many empty shop units in the town centre. I will be praying for an opportunity and a way to do a shop front prayer room this year, because I think it will give many unchurched people the chance to pray to and meet with Jesus. And because I think that we can do it, given the unity in the church in Colchester, and the desire to pray.
love Richard
In the week before Christmas 2006, more than 50 people from more than 14 different congregations prayed in the 24/7 prayer room at Colchester Baptist Church, Eld Lane.
Thank you to all those who gave time at this busy time of year to support the prayer room. A big thanks to Lyndsey and Rod, and all the church at Eld Lane who gave us a home when we had “no room at the inn”.
There were some significant times of prayer for both individuals and groups. Also, the prayer room was a base for mission and action with present wrapping for shoppers during late night shopping. Also 6 people from 5 different congregations prayer walked and gave hospitality to late night revellers on Friday night/Saturday morning. Look out for a more detailed report on that eventful night!
A message that I felt through the people's prayers and time in the prayer room was “perseverance”. Several people spoke of coming against the barrier of delay. I feel called on to persevere and breakthrough in the new things of God in 2007.
We were not able to run the prayer room continuously during the whole week. This was because there were not enough people offering to take on time slots, especially the late night/early morning slots.
I felt frustrated that a town centre shop front prayer room was not available, despite many empty shop units in the town centre. I will be praying for an opportunity and a way to do a shop front prayer room this year, because I think it will give many unchurched people the chance to pray to and meet with Jesus. And because I think that we can do it, given the unity in the church in Colchester, and the desire to pray.
love Richard
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