Boundaries

Here's a great bit of wisdom from Marie....

"I learned something in the Easter holidays that may also be an encouragement to you in this busy season.

Grace and I visited an owl sanctuary.

We discovered there used to be 14,000 owls before the second World War. At that time fields were fairly small.

During the war the government became worried about feeding the people. They encouraged farmers to remove the hedgerows, creating bigger fields, and to plough to the edge of the field rather than leaving the edges alone.

Of course, this meant there was nowhere for some animals and birds to shelter and find food, and so their population rapidly declined.

Until that point I had always thought of setting boundaries as an issue of my health, spiritual, physical etc. That day I realised it's about people who live on the edge of society and who rely on what they find there.

If I plough to the edge there is nothing left for them."

Hope 2008 24/10 Prayer Room update

The prayer room will be running from 8pm 1 May - 8pm 10 May at St Peter's Church, North Hill, Colchester.

So far 16 different church congregations have committed to taking prayer slots in the prayer room, covering about 8 days of continuous prayer!!

If you'd like your church to be involved please contact Richard Smith via mail@colchesterboilerroom.org.uk

The prayer room will be open to visitors 7am - 8pm Friday 2 May - Saturday 10 May.

One minute of prayer for Zimbabwe each day

Hello Boiler Room friends,

There is a state of emergency and dispair in Zimbabwe currently. However, there also seems to be an opportunity of movement towards change as well as potential violence.

Please would you join me in praying for Zimbabwe for a minute a day at this time? This could be added to our Daily Prayer, if you pray that.

Further info on Zimbabwe and the one minute prayer are below.

with appreciation of your time and prayers,love Richard

Dear World,

I am a 16 year old person living in Zimbabwe. I think the time has come for a more direct appeal, and so I am writing to you, the world.

Maybe, just maybe, there might be someone out there who can help us...It's tough here now.

The inflation rate is so high that if you don't change money within 6 hours you could get half the amount of foreign currency that you would have originally received.

We're starving now; people die around us. In the last year alone at least ten people associated personally with my family have died despite the fact that they were only middle-aged. Other people don't make it to middle age. They don't even make it past childhood.Our once-proud nation is on it's knees. We flee or die. This beautiful, bountiful once-rich land has become a living hell. We have dealt with it until now; we have made a plan. That was the Zimbabwean motto: 'MAKE A PLAN'.

But now we can't make a plan. We're too tired, too broken, too bankrupt. We can't afford life, and life does not cost much, not really. We cannot afford to eat, we cannot afford to drink, and we cannot afford to make mistakes, because if we do we die. We don't have the capital to support ourselves, and those few who do, have to deal with the horror of watching their friends and family fall into absolute poverty as they cannot afford to help them.We're waiting desperately for a great hand to pick us up out of the dirt because at the moment we are outnumbered by Fate herself, and so we close our eyes and pray. We have fought for too long, and have been brought to breaking point. We simply stand, heads down, and bear it. Our spirit has gone; we are defeated. After a valiant struggle of over fifteen years, we have been broken.

There is no will left, no spirit. Like a horse that has been beaten until it cannot fight anymore; we are the same, and, like that horse, we stand dusty, scarred and alone, with dried blood on our sides and lash marks along our flanks. Our ribs too stand out; our hide is also dull.
Our eyes are glazed, our throats are parched, and our knees struggle to support us so that we stand with splayed legs to bear the brunt of the next beating, too dejected even to whimper...

This is my plea. The thought of picking ourselves up again is sickening; one can only take so many blows before oblivion is reached, and we are teetering on the rim of the bottomless void. One more push will be the end of us all...There must be someone out there who can do something. There must be someone out there who cares! We are a destroyed nation, and the world sits back and watches, pretending they cannot hear our cries. I appeal to you all...HELP US!

(From a 16 year Zimbabwean.)

IN VIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS IN ZIMBABWE WE ARE ORGANISING A DAILY ONE MINUTE PRAYER TIME AT 8 A.M. OR 1 P.M. OR 8.00 P.M. AT ANY ONE OF THESE TIMES, PLEASE STOP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING AND SPEND THAT ONE MINUTE PRAYING FOR GOD TO INTERVENE IN THE AFFAIRS OF OUR COUNTRY.

SOMEONE SAID IF CHRISTIANS REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE FULL EXTENT OF THE POWER WE HAVE AVAILABLE THROUGH PRAYER, WE MIGHT BE SPEECHLESS.

THANK YOU, ZIMBABWE 24-hour Solidarity Vigil

Ordinary people going extraordinary places

Last weekend, I visited Shropshire - land of rolling hills, wind and rain... and... snow! I joined other believers for a training conference for voluntary work with a Chiristian company either overseas or in UK.

These other people were really encouraging. I'm more and more convinced God chooses people who seem ordinary or clearly not naturally qualified for the job. The Bible is full of them... Moses, Abraham, Gideon, David, Peter. I believe this means God will choose you some day...

God has chosen me to go to Africa in September this year. I wake every day saying thanks to God for this opportunity. I'm mixed with feelings of humility, joy, peace yet also thougts of, "Why me?" "What will happen to me there?" and "What will I do when I'm there?" I just wanna seek God my Father and do what he says.

I need your prayers and so do many other volunteers sharing the gospel. Ordinary people who go out every Friday night as a Street Pastor and those who tirelessly prepare food for the Soup Run every single evening. Those are just two examples of many... I really hope you listen carefully to what God would say to you about sharing the greatest story in the world.

Much love and thanks
Michael

Please get in touch if you would like to know more about my work in Africa by the email on this website or phone - (01206) 523923

24-7 Podcasts available for to inspire prayer and reflection

Check this link http://www.24-7prayer.com/spaces

I think these podcasts inspire Godly reflection and prayer...

what do you think?

love Richard

Great Clacton Prayer Room

Anne Scott, prayer room creator extraordinaire invites us to the;

Great Clacton Methodist Church Prayer Room

Day of prayer
Share time with God and with others.

5th April 2008 7.30 am – 10.30 pm

Hope 2008 24/10 Prayer Room

Many people across the church are coming to together with the dream of seeing many people reached by the love of Jesus Christ. This is Hope 2008. We believe prayer is crucial to enable us to be guided by God, and to see fruit for His kingdom. You and your congregation can be part of a special prayer time to fuel Hope 2008 in Colchester, and inspire our work together for His kingdom.

The vision is for a 24 hour Prayer Room runnning continuously for 10 days at St Peters Church, North Hill 1 – 10 May 2008, in the run up to the Global Day of Prayer 2008 on May 11.

This vision involves more continuous prayer than has been seen before in Colchester. It is pioneering but possible, if we work together. We need 19 church congregations to each commit to filling a 12 hour block of one hour slots.

What will the prayer room be like?

The prayer room will be available for all types of prayer to Jesus. So, a group may come and pray during one hour slot, or people may want to come on their own. People may want to pray in silence, or play music.

There will also be creative prayer activities in the prayer room.

The prayer room can be a place of mission, too. It will be open to the public during the day, so that any interested people can come in and find out about prayer and about Jesus.

Each person who is booked into a slot will have the responsibility for looking after the prayer room. People who are in the prayer room at night should find another person to accompany them so they are not alone at night. There will be prayer room supervisors on call at all times.

How can you be involved?

You can contact Richard Smith on richard@colchesterboilerroom.org.uk to check which slots are available. The slots will run 12 midnight – 12 noon, or 12 noon – 12 midnight.

Richard Smith, Colchester Boiler Room Community
Hope 2008 is supported in Colchester by
Seeking God's Blessing for Colchester, Colchester Prayernet,and church congregations.