The time of prayer between Ascension [40 days after Easter] and Pentecost [50 days after Easter] has in recent years become an international time of prayer on the theme - Thy Kingdom Come. This year it falls between May 9th and 19th.  Thy Kingdom Come is a global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer. Click here for further background.

Here at St. Peter's we are planning special days of prayer in those ten days and just before the celebration of Pentecost on May 19th. Everybody will be given a copy of the Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Journal. There is a space in this journal for us to list 5 people that we would like to pray for during this time. It also includes a prayer with a helpful picture for each day. The prayers encourage different ways of praying, such as using art, journaling, icons, thanksgiving, prayer walking and pilgrimage. The church will be open at specific times for prayer. The 2 Gildersome primary schools have also been invited to come and spend time in church experiencing prayer. Interesting ideas that will be used include a prayer tent and labyrinths with a full size labyrinth being created. Prayer stations will be set up around church and be available throughout the week. If there is something close to your heart, be it local, national or international, and you would like to be involved, there will be a planning meeting at St Peter's at 7:30pm on Wednesday 24th. We would love to see you there. If you cannot make the meeting let Patrick or Denise know. We are feeling very excited about Thy Kingdom Come, especially as it coincides with our Prayer Course. Join us in building on our prayer life in Gildersome, and help to make a difference to our village, the UK and the world!