Roads and areas in prayer diaries
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6: 18)
The Deanery Synod meeting in October focussed on prayer and a number of different approaches were explored. One of these was a Deanery Prayer Calendar which had been compiled by Rev Rich Clarkson so that each week a church in the deanery or another aspect of deanery life could be held in our prayers. It could be used by those leading intercessions in services in parishes, in prayer meetings, or privately.
The PCC decided that it would be good to have a similar prayer diary for our parish and a Parish Prayer Diary has been compiled.
For most Sundays prayers are invited for those who live or work in particular roads or areas of the parish – this is the ecclesiastical parish which is larger than the civil parish and includes parts of Shropshire, including Rudge and an area to the north of Patshull. Each road and area in the Church Parish is included and they are grouped together so that the number of homes in each group is broadly similar. On other Sundays prayers are invited for other individuals, groups or organisations.
Both diaries will be available in different ways. Copies will be at the back of the church and on the church website. The entry for each Sunday will be included in ChadNet, in the calendar on the website and in the magazine from next month.
It is hoped that people will find this a helpful aid to prayer and will use it in various ways, including as a focus for private prayer and intercessions.
Geoffrey Dann
Taken from an article in the January 2023 edition of the Parish News magazine.