On Tuesday mornings during school term time our ‘Open the Book’ team are invited to present the assembly at Hillview Primary School to share Bible stories with the children. ‘Open the Book’ is a national project, currently run by the Bible Society. It was established in 1999 by a small group of churches in Bedford, as a result of concerns amongst Christians that many children are not aware of the stories contained in the Bible. The ‘Open the Book’ project was then introduced into schools in Gloucestershire, and a current member of our congregation played a key role in its development after being inspired at a Children’s Ministry Conference in Eastbourne. The project has since experienced huge growth nationally. Schools interested in linking up with ‘Open the Book’ can find out which churches are connected with an ‘Open the Book’ team on the Bible Society website.Bible stories have influenced world history and literature. They are embedded in British culture and traditions and are therefore relevant to all children. ‘Open the Book’ helps schools to fulfil the requirement to have Christian input into their assemblies and provides the format and training for the story tellers. The Bible story is told in a relevant way so that the children can connect it with their own lives and experiences. This usually involves lots of fun props, costumes, audience participation and ‘I helped Open the Book’ stickers. At a recent assembly a teacher was given the role of ‘Goliath’, the Philistine giant defeated by ‘David’, a small shepherd boy. The children thought it was very funny when ‘Goliath’ fell to the ground! The Bible story is followed by a period of reflection and a prayer which is worded inclusively to respect all beliefs. Following a recent story about the great friendship between ‘David’ and ‘Johnathan’, the son of Saul, King of Israel, the children reflected on the the importance of looking after their friends and choosing to do the right thing for them. At the end of the assembly the children showed their appreciation with an enthusiastic chorus of ‘Thank you Open the Book’ and lots of smiley faces!
Some years ago, after going through a very difficult time, I felt I needed to show my gratitude to God for His unfailing support but I did not know how. By chance I went to a Christian Healing Centre for a morning of prayer and meditation. Just after, a group of people from the centre came to our church to lead a day introducing their work. I was amazed at how drawn to their work I felt. During that day words and pictures were shared, one of which seemed possibly meant for me. I went up for prayer and one of the Centre members told me she believed I was being called to join the centre as a Prayer Counsellor. I was very unsure as to whether this really was an answer to my prayers for guidance but decided that if I didn’t follow it through, I would never know.I completed the full training course and found it was exactly what I felt called to do. My first assignment as a counsellor was to help on one of the weekend retreats. On the way down to the centre on a Friday evening, I was dreading that I would not be up to the task I was facing so told God how I felt. I am still amazed at the immediate response. I saw a picture of a beautiful fluted bowl made of mother of pearl and felt God say the He would fill it. A feeling of such peace come over me and I was able to look forward to the days ahead.That weekend I saw troubled people coming in on Friday and going home on Sunday completely changed and I was truly blessed as I saw how God was working in that place. I felt that I had found just what I had been praying for and became part of the team until the centre closed through lack of finance and the death of the leader.Shared by a church member at our January 2024 church prayer breakfast.
‘The first was an elderly couple that I was trying to contact in order to arrange a pastoral visit. I phoned them several times over 3 days and decided to just call on the off chance, not something i would normally do. The couple welcomed me and discovered that their phone had not been replaced correctly, meaning that they could not receive any incoming calls. Not only were they grateful as they'd been awaiting a call from their GP Surgery but the lady said it was a very quick answer to prayer as they wanted to see me.A second incident was after the annual memorial service when we'd handed out several ‘prayer squares' (knitted squares that we give to people who are unwell or bereaved to remind them that God loves them and we are praying for them). As I was travelling to church the following Sunday, I suddenly thought that I needed to replenish our stocks. Although thatwouldn't be too arduous a task, it was 'another thing' that I would have to make time for. I sent up a quick prayer asking for help to find the time to do this. However when I arrived at church, another church member gave me a bag containing 10 or 12 squares that she had knitted.Another very quick answer to prayer!' Shared at our 2024 church prayer breakfast.
Margaret says ‘Her prayers are very much appreciated and are obviously working since we are seeing signs of God at work. In the past year, we have been gradually making the session more God-focussed. We have a short talk after the story, whether it is a Bible story or not, a prayer before snack time and some Christian action songs at the end of the morning. We also introduced a Prayer Request box which was used by a few of the adults. Now they simply ask us to pray for their particular needs, which is even better.We’ve seen an increase in the number of families who regularly attend our monthly Messy Church events and in requests for infant and adult baptisms. One child, aged just two, has been asking to sing “Our God is a great big God” at another group she attends.’Shared by Margaret at our January 2024 Church Breakfast.
