Adopt a Week of Prayer initiative relaunched

This is an initiative of Call to Prayer, a group of Christians from different church backgrounds across Norfolk whose desire is to see prayer become more and more at the heart of the church’s life, so that it will impact our neighbourhoods, regions and the nation. Call to Prayer is in fellowship with other prayer networks both locally and nationally, under the leadership of Jill Gower.

 

The idea for Adopt a Week originated with a local church leader who suggested that a real push of prayer could be promoted by encouraging individual churches or groups of several churches in one area to undertake a week of prayer, registering this on the Network Norwich & Norfolk website. We are hopeful that in the fullness of time every week of the year should be covered in this way, with the baton being passed on from one church to another, possibly in the form of a short report on the week.

 

We became aware that, with so many other demands on people’s time, it would be helpful to offer resources giving a wide variety of ideas as to how this could be done, so that everyone should be able to find fresh inspiration and help as to how to set about planning a week of prayer in their own individual way. These resources are now freely available on request.

 

Members of the Call to Prayer team are very willing to visit different churches to offer help and encouragement should they be considering undertaking a week of prayer. Please contact Annabel Valentine 01953 483440 annabel.valentine@tiscali.co.uk  We would love to hear from those who are already doing this, so that they might sign up too, as part of the bigger picture.

 

During 2008, 12 churches adopted a week of prayer, all setting about this in different ways, most finding the resources and impetus helpful and motivating. Where there are a number of small churches, especially in a rural area, they have been able to adopt a week between them, which is a wonderful way of uniting Christians and developing relationships.

 

It is clear that there is huge potential for raising the profile of prayer in the local church and encouraging many more people to engage in prayer in whatever way is comfortable for them, especially those who would normally be reluctant to attend prayer meetings. When this starts to happen, it can indeed change the spiritual climate in our region and nation. Let’s go for it!