Morning and Evening Prayer

Some of you may remember that during the first weeks that I was here at St. Mary’s there was a notice each week in the pew leaflet about Morning and Evening Prayer and some words of encouragement for people to come along. This article is by way of the same thing!

Prayer to start and end the day ‘holds’ us - and those for whom we pray. Gathering to pray with others offers encouragement for one another, as well as assuring us that there are companions walking the road with us and for us.

As with all these things, you don’t have to be super holy, you just have to be committed – committed to saying that for half an hour on any morning or afternoon of the week, Monday to Friday, you will make your way to church to pray with others who have also gathered to pray.

You could become a ‘Monday afternoon person’, who makes a commitment to come then, or a Wednesday morning… or Friday evening… it doesn’t really matter, but I do encourage you to come. And if you are someone who is not physically able to come but would like to pray ‘with’ us, then contact me and I will print out the Office for you so that you can pray with us from home.

Circling our church in prayer – praying without ceasing – affords us mindfulness and hopefulness: mindfulness of the presence of God and hopefulness in the promise of his glory. Grounding ourselves in the psalms and in the scriptures links us with our heritage and all that has gone before.

By gathering each day, we link ourselves with all the faithful who have worshipped here before us, and with those who will continue to worship long after we are gone.

Why not come along and join us – and them?

Monday – Friday: 9.00 am and 5.45 pm

Deborah

Please note: from 1st March 2010 Morning Prayer was changed to 8.30am.