Two people were out hiking in the mountains when they came across a hungry, angry bear. The first person immediately dropped to their knees and started frantically praying, "God, please make this bear a Christian bear!" The second person raised an eyebrow and said, “You can't just pray for a bear to become Christian." But the first insisted, "I have faith! With God, all things are possible." Suddenly, a miracle happened. The bear stopped dead in its tracks, crossed its paws, and began to pray, "Thank you, Lord, for this delicious meal I'm about to receive…" Prayer changes things! Sometimes obviously, sometimes gently, but usually, it changes us. Every Sunday we Pray “Thy Kingdom Come” – so what does that mean? It means that we want God - his love, his justice, his peace, his influence to be in this world, in Jersey and in our wonderful Parish of St Martin. That this world will be lit up by light rather than darkness. I would like to invite you to join with me in praying with more than a million Christians, in nearly 90% of countries worldwide, across 85 different denominations and traditions, between Ascension Day (9th May) and Pentecost (19th May) that “Thy Kingdom Come”. Here in St Martin’s, we can do this in several ways over the 11days between Ascension and Pentecost. 1) Pray at Home – Hopefully (Ferries willing!) Thy Kingdom Come Booklets with prayers for the Morning, Evening, Day and Night will arrive by Thursday 9th May for you to pick up and use in your own time. 2) Sunday 12th May at 6pm we will gather in the Lady Chapel and have a time of Prayer. 3) There will be some Prayer Stations set up in church for you to pop in at anytime and pray. 4) Feel free to use the Labyrinth in the Lower Cemetery, there are some prayer guides on the Welcome Desk. Prayer has many ways, it is not just closing your eyes and keeping your hands together and saying the correct words in the right order. Prayer in its most simple form is talking to God, it is allowing our hearts and minds to express our desires for our family, friends, neighbours, and those things in the news around the world, where we want to see change or peace or justice. Thy Kingdom Comes unites Christians around the world to pray for these things. Practically, some people use a list, some use liturgy, such as the Prayer book that will be coming. Some use silence, some use drawing or colouring. You can download the Thy Kingdom Come App from the Google Play Store or Apple App store if that helps, but whatever way you pray, its about bringing what is on your heart to God. Over the page are some ideas of what to pray for. Prayer is not always easy, we get distracted, we can get disheartened, we can wonder if it makes a difference, but it does. It’s a bit like throwing a stone into a pond, there are ripples because of our prayers. A Prayer Diary Suggestion: If you are wondering what to pray about then here are a few ideas: Thursday 9th Liberation Day: Thanking God for our Freedom and that we will use it for the good of all. For those who protect it and those who long for it. Friday 10th Our family, our friends & neighbours: Pray for their wellbeing, and God blessings and peace on them, and the healing of any broken relationships. Saturday 11th The Parish: Praying for our Connétable Karen and Deputy Steve, and all who serve and support us in the Parish, and for the many groups that meet in the Parish. Pray God’s peace on those who live and work in the Parish. For those still recovering or rebuilding after the Tornado. Sunday 12th The Farming Community: Pray for God’s Blessing on those whose livelihood involves working on the land or connected with agriculture. Ask God for resilience and wisdom. Monday 13th The School: Pray for God’s Wisdom for Headteacher Chris and Deputy Head Karen and the staff and God’s joy and blessing on the children. Tuesday 14th For the charities, we support: Dairy for Development: Pray that the project will help alleviate poverty and bring hope to those in Rwanda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Zambia. Hands Around the World: Pray that God will bless the Schools we support The New Life Centre, Sarberia, Western Bengal, India and Pamozi Ndi Ana (PNA), Chipata, Eastern Province, Zambia Mustard Seed: Pray for its ongoing work in supporting those in need in Romania and Ukraine Wednesday 15th For our world: Pray for Peace and Justice in the areas of this world where there is none or a situation important to you. Thursday 16th S'Marteenies: God will bless the Children and carers and help the team as they lead. Friday 17th 3rd Jersey (St Saviour) Scout Group and St John’s Ambulance Cadets: Pray for the Leaders and Scouts, Cubs and Beavers and Badgers and Cadets as they learn new skills in the Parish. Saturday 18th St Martin’s Honorary Police, and RNLI at St Catherine’s: Pray for them as they support the community. Sunday 19th Our Church Family: Give thanks for our Church Family, and that God will bless and guide us as we follow Him and seek to grow, spiritually and numerically. Pray for our fellow Christians at St Martin’s Methodist and St Martin’s Catholic Church, and those who worship from our Parish but worship elsewhere.
Holy Week is a special time in the Church calendar, it is an invitation to walk with Jesus to the Cross, but also to know hope and life because of Easter Day. We will be putting on extra services this week, even if you can't join us, then please feel free to give yourself space this week to think about your Journey with God. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we will be holding Compline. Compline is an ancient service of quiet prayer before the ending of the day. We will be holding this at 8.30pm in the Chancel on Monday and Wednesday, but at the Rectory on Tuesday, all are welcome to all these services. On Thursday we will be holding a Maundy Thursday Service at 7pm and on Good Friday at 2pm with an Hour at the Foot of the Cross with music and readings. Advanced Notice - Pet Service 4pm 14th April
When you read this article, we will nearly be at the end of Lent, and heading towards Easter. Lent is for some 40 days of giving something up, maybe a mini diet after the New Year resolution diet has failed! It maybe a time for doing something new and positive for yourself or others. Or maybe a period of reflection and for some it is the time between Pancake Day and Easter where everything carries on as normal, except for some reason, others seem cranky as they are denying themselves chocolate! Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Lencten, meaning lengthen and refers to the lengthening days of Spring. This period coincided with the Early Church practice that those who wished to enter the faith would learn about it over 40 days and on Easter Sunday would be welcomed and baptised. It was also the time for those who had left the church, to “repent” and get ready for re-admission to the church again on Easter Sunday. The local church was encouraged to walk with those on these journeys and to join in with study and repentance, prayer and fasting. “Repent” is usually a negative, associated with someone shouting in your face, or a red-faced priest, yelling at a bunch of unimpressed miserable parishioners from a pulpit! Yet “Repent” should not be a negative word. In the original Greek it means to “change your mind for the better.” It is about concluding in your own mind that something is not right and then doing something positive about it as a result. Someone likened it to the change of a caterpillar to a butterfly. When Jesus walked on the earth, people “repented”. They were transformed after hearing and encountering Jesus. The values Jesus spoke about, and his followers tried to live up to (and often or not failed at) are still relevant today and many of us, both of faith and of no faith would hold them dear and wish to see them more evident in the world. We live in days when we can at times wonder at the state of humanity. It’s easy to shake our heads, to worry or bury our heads in the sand and even be part of the problem if we are not careful, but that is not how change happens. It is individuals who help bring change about, by often listening and reflecting and then changing their own attitudes and actions. In the church, we are encouraged in Lent to reflect on what really matters in life, with the focus of the Easter Story. Partly because of His challenge of hierarchy and authority, Jesus was killed. But Easter, is the story of death to life, darkness to light, despair to hope. It’s about transformation. Lent is also a good time for anyone, whether people of faith or no faith to reflect and hope for transformation. What can we do to make a difference, in our road, our parish, the Island and the world?
