Skip to main content

Prayer column for March 2014

Image
By
Expecting the unexpected


You may not have heard of Charlestown Meadows – fields by Buck Lane on the lower edge of Baildon about to be built on – unless you’re an avid reader of the Telegraph & Argus.  It’s council-owned land, and they are putting in infrastructure in the expectation, or hope, of attracting private enterprise.  So it did, early on, in the guise of travellers’ caravans, but they can’t have filled in the right forms and were turfed out, leaving behind them the usual jetsam of their presence, including, to my surprise, a towelling dressing gown which still graces the approach road to the site.  It caught my eye and I did a rough and hasty sketch of it one afternoon.

Why?  And what’s this got to do with prayer anyway?  Well the ‘why’ is simply that it caught my eye and seemed bizarre enough to note.  And the prayer connection is that it occurred to me afterwards that we don’t do enough if it – I mean we don’t do enough of noting the bizarre, the unexpected, the unusual, especially in unlikely and out-of-the-way places.  Because that’s where and how God often seems to choose to work in response to our prayers.  So we may miss his answers and toss them aside as insignificant flotsam if we’re not watchful.  Perhaps I should have done a more careful drawing.

Roy Lorrain-Smith

A prayer for each week

Lord of the obscure, as well as the under-your-nose obvious, please open our eyes to see what you are doing in Bradford North, that we may support your work and glorify your name, through Jesus.  Amen.

Lord of jobs, and fields, and industry, and prosperity and harvest, who loves to give richly through earth’s bounty, please may we respond to your generosity with thankfulness, and work wisely with it.  Amen.

Lord of the unexpected and surprising, calling unlikely people in out-of-the-way places into your service, please help us to discern your hand and support your work, as you lead, through Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Lord of the moment, whose Spirit moves mysteriously, now pointing to this or prompting that, please awaken us to his blessed nudging, open us to his fresh hope , and arouse us to eager obedience.  Amen.

Lord of all life’s jetsam and flotsam, which to us may seem but worthless waste, please work your miracle of recovery on our rejects and wreckage, that our failures may become a fanfare of your glory.  Amen.

Your own prayers


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soupermums! Wilsden Trinity Church

By
Do you have a young baby? Looking for something to do? If the answer is yes then Soupermums is for you. We're here from 11 until 1 every Monday, Mums (and dads) have a rest and the babies can play. Have a lovely sit down whilst you sip on a brew. Enjoy having someone else make lunch for you! Come along to Wilsden Church, meet the rest of the group. Lovely ladies cuddle the babies, whilst you eat your soup. Chat with the mums, new friends you will make. Swap tips and advice over a slice or two of cake. So what are you waiting for? come on along, For homemade treats, good company and if you're lucky a song. We're looking forward to meeting you, please come take a peek, 11-1 at Wilsden Trinity, we're here every week! Celine V  (a Soupermum!) Where can new mums go, to have lunch where it’s warm and safe and you get to eat fresh soup and homemade cakes, while someone holds your baby? Too big an ask? Not at Wilsden Trinity! Every Mond
Post a Comment
Read more

Methodist Women in Britain

By
Ladies of the Bradford North Circuit, welcome to an introduction to MWiB! Methodist Women in Britain is a movement within the Methodist Church, which seeks to resource individual women and women's groups in a variety of ways. It came into being in July 2011, formed through the coming together of Women's Network and other women's meetings within Methodism. MWiB is more than a meeting. Many women may feel that it is not for them, because they do not already attend a women's meeting. The movement is there for ALL women in Methodism. There are opportunities for meetings within circuits, and at District and Connexional levels, which are all held on a regular basis. MWiB seeks to offer a broader menu for women today. There are many opportunities to meet locally, nationally and internationally. Resources are available for individuals to use at home, at work or within their families. MWiB is very active nationally; details of events can be found in the Methodist R
Post a Comment
Read more

A year in the life of Baildon Methodist Church

By
The snippets below are taken from Baildon Methodist Church report to the Charity Commissioners for the year ending August 2017. Church membership increased to 187 by the end of the year. As a further development of the Jesus Shaped People programme, which we found so inspiring, (https://www.jesusshapedpeople.net/) a five-week teaching programme entitled ‘Parables For Baildon’ again took place in the New Year, studying the relevance of the Parables in relation to living today. A ‘Family Focus’ leaflet, updated seasonally, was produced listing all activities and events available at Baildon Methodist Church for children and young families. Events during the year included a harvest supper and entertainment, a Gilbert & Sullivan evening, a comedy night, a Church Anniversary social, Action For Children Christmas Fayre and concerts by Village Voices, Aire Valley Male Voice choir and Woodhouse Grove School. In the autumn, the Church hosted a visit by a group of young Palestinian dan
Post a Comment
Read more