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Prayers And Letters For The Quarter from the Superintendent Rev. David Jenkins (before we knew of the availablity and appointment of Keith Edwards!)
Dear Friends,
The national shortage of ministers appears to be catching up with us. Although it is not impossible that we will be fully staffed for the start of the new Vale of Aylesbury Circuit in September that is looking increasingly unlikely.
The negative impact of this is that each church is probably going to receive less concentration of ministerial pastoral oversight and will see their minister less often on a Sunday than is the case now. That diluted level of involvement is likely to be frustrating both for the churches and the (potentially over-stretched) ministers. The positive impact could be new forms of involvement from the people of the churches as we rise to this challenge in creative ways.
Let us make the most of the situation we have now and cherish with real gratitude those whose sphere of ministry among us is moving towards a significant time of transition.
From May Rev Fred Ireland is due to be on sabbatical, marking the dividing line between his ministry at Fairford Leys and at Thame. We are very glad that Fred will still be a minister among us in the new Circuit, but would want to express at this point our gratitude for all Fred has contributed in two different spheres of ministry among us-as Superintendent Minister of the Aylesbury Circuit and in the pioneering founding of the newly formed church on Fairford Leys. Thank you, Fred.
In August Rev Ann Varker, Julian, Becci and Hannah move on to Crediton in the Exeter Circuit. We are delighted for them, both in the nature of Ann’s new appointment and where it is located in relation to their wider family. Members of the former Aylesbury Circuit are not likely to forget how Ann was plunged into becoming acting Superintendent when she first arrived. Her many qualities, of asking searching questions and seeking fresh solutions were emerging then, and have since issued in vital ecumenical work in areas of new housing at Buckingham Park and in preparation for Berryfields, in areas of fresh expressions including
Stepping Stones at Whitchurch, in deepening ecumenical commitment, most notably at North Marston and Weedon/Hardwick. Ann’s contribution as Circuit Mission Enabler, and in the wider sphere of the District and in Buckinghamshire Churches Together is greatly valued alongside pastoral care of every church in which Ann has ministered since coming into the Circuit. Thank you, Ann.
Part of the continuing challenge we have is to ensure that we build on such vital work, whatever number of ministers we have.
Yours, in our shared mission,
David Jenkins
A PRAYER FOR OUR CIRCUIT THIS QUARTER
We pray for the challenges faced by our world, our country and our church.
Among the problems of :
climate change,
drastic poverty,
war and terrorism,
economic crisis,
unemployment,
cut backs of public services,
shortage of ministers,
grant wisdom to those in leadership, creative thinking, imagination,
understanding, and disciplined resolve to all who work towards a fairer world, and an adequately resourced nation.
For our Circuit we pray for the ability to adapt, to concentrate on priorities, to see and take opportunities for mission, to pull together in strongly mutual commitment, through Jesus Christ, our Leader and Lord, Amen.
CIRCUIT PRAYER DIARYON THE FOLLOWING DAY EACH MONTH PLEASE PRAY FOR:-
1. People caught up in natural disasters
2. Aylesbury Church, and community
3. People living in conflict situations
4. Cheddington Church and community
5. People known to us who are suffering from bereavement
6. The Church on Fairford Leys and community
7. Those who are ill and in hospital
8. North Marston Church and community
9. People exercising leadership in our local communities
10. Princes Risborough Church and community
11. The life of our nation and those who lead
12. Stewkley Church and community
13. The work of the United Nations
14. Stoke Hammond Church and community
15. Our Ministers and their families
16. Stoke Mandeville Church and community,
17. Those involved in Prison Ministry
18. Stone Church and community
19. Local schools
20. Swanbourne Church and community
21. Relationships with people of other faiths
22. Waddesdon Church and Community
23. Work among young people around the Circuit
24. Weedon Church and community
25. Vulnerable people known to us
26. Whitchurch Church and community
27. Action to protect the world’s environment
28. Wingrave Church and community
29. Relationships between Christians locally
30. Our Circuit Leadership Team
31. Our Chair of District - Rev. Peter Hancock
Some Previous Prayers
During the winter’s darkness and cold,
During the Lenten journey to conflict and death,
Inspire us with the hope of new life,
Enthuse us with experience of resurrection.
Amen
As we prepare for the future, help us to be deeply grateful for the past and to live fully in the present.
May we cherish the sacrament of the present moment, thankful for the gift of each new day, eager to serve you within it, enthusiastic to discover more of the wonder of your love.
Amen
We pray for the wider Methodist Church-
· For Alison Tomlin as she moves from being the Chair of District
· For Peter Hancock as he becomes the new District Chair
· For our neighbours in the Thame and Watlington Circuit and for the Circuits around them in considering their future.
We pray for our Circuit
· In decisions we make regarding a possible merger with churches in the Thame and Watlington Circuit
· For the people of Aylesbury in the use of their newly refurbished Church and Community Centre
· For the people of Wingrave, celebrating 150 years of witness and reflecting on future directions
May the wisdom of God guide us and the strength of God sustain us,
Amen.
Help us to build with care
· Buildings for people to meet with God
· Relationships with one another and our neighbours
· A pattern of life in which we encounter you
· An attitude towards life which enables us to be the people you call us to be
Amen
I thank you, Lord, for the food I enjoy each day, for its plentiful ness and variety. I pray for all who are hungry and malnourished because food is scarce and only of one kind.
Thank you for all I possess, for the usefulness, pleasure and enjoyment they each bring to me. I pray for those who struggle to make ends meet, whose homes are impoverished and whose choices are limited.
Thank you for my home, for its sturdiness and space, its warmth and attractiveness. I pray for those with no home of their own, no private space, no pleasant surroundings, those exposed to the decisions of others as to the permanency of where they are now.
Thank you for my friends, my family and all the love with which I have been surrounded from my first days. I pray for the lonely, the friendless, those with no caring relatives, those who do not know the meaning of love.
May my gratitude not make me feel guilty for what I have, but may I become more determined to see that others have the choice to enjoy all that I could so easily take for granted. May that determination lead to action on their behalf.
Amen.
Living God, there is far more about you and your activity than we will ever know; far more to thank you for than we will ever realise. Your love and your purposes are far greater than we can observe: sometimes we may see the plant pushing up through the soil, but we do not see what has gone before that. For all you do which is beyond our observation or experience, as well as for that which we can see and do know, we give you grateful praise.
Amen.
I praise you for continually working in our lives to transform us, even though it means never leaving us alone, never letting us rest content, because you are always refining us, chiselling away at unwanted stone, challenging our attitudes and helping us to move on. May I more willingly co-operate with your process of transformation, that I may become much more fully the person you intend me to be.
Amen.
Lord, I thank you for the great adventure of life and all its opportunities. I would learn that the future is not mine to manipulate, although you do give me freedom to make my own decisions. I would also learn that the most perfect will of God does not always proceed in predictable straight lines, but through many twists and turns. Help me to be both a learner, listening to the experiences of other people and a catalyst, raising the questions which people need to answer and enabling action to take place. When one door opens help me to keep knocking at the next one, following through where each avenue may lead. Use me as someone who takes things forward, sees things through and contributes towards developments being made. May I play my part in working alongside others in a team and may I keep learning what it means to work alongside you.
Amen.
Sometimes in conversations with other people, Lord, we become aware of some weakness in ourselves. Help us to learn from this awareness, and, in your strength, to move out of that particular rut. Help me to learn today, from the signals others give out, what in my behaviour is constructive and helpful towards them, and what is off-putting; what I say that people may misconstrue; where I fail to think things through sufficiently; where I am hurtful in flippant remarks I may make. May my speech contribute towards the well being of others and be part of your purpose for their lives and mine.
Amen.
I long to share the adventures of this day with you; and to discover the joy and wonder that you bring to life. I commit to your gracious care each one of the people who have primary claim on my affection. May today see an exploration of spiritual truth and an experiment in new methods of living. Help me to use the gifts, interests and skills you have given me for the benefit of others. Help me to be alive and sensitive to the promptings of your Spirit and to the feelings of other people. Each day may I love, trust and serve you more.
Amen.
Thank you, Lord God, for other people-for those whose company I enjoy and with whom I can relax; and those whom I find difficult to live with, who challenge me into a broader way of loving. For those who remember me in acts of thoughtful kindness and prayer; those whose love for me is an essential part of their lives, and my love for them an essential part of mine. For those, even people I have never met, whose writings and thinking interest and stimulate me. Remind me today of how my own work is being done for the benefit of other people; and help me to produce my best for them, to take their feelings and thoughts into account. Above all thank you for your presence at the heart of my life.
Amen.
Yours, Lord, is the standard by which our lives are to be judged. Yours is the strength upon which we depend. Yours is the inspiration we need to guide our lives. We thank you for every opportunity to return to you, to reassess life by your values and to be restored to the sanity of your ways. Guide all who have the responsibility of leadership and those who act as their main advisors. Help us to exercise our own responsibilities faithfully and well, submitting to the discipline which makes us truly free. We pray for those who are without power-refugees with no home; children with no parents; the poor with no land; the hungry with no food; the war-torn with no peace; the anxious with no rest. Use us in readjusting the balance, righting the wrongs and bringing reconciliation.
Amen.
Thank you, Lord God, for other people - for those whose company I enjoy and with whom I can relax; those who remember me in acts of kindness and prayer; those whose love for me is an essential part of their lives, and my love for them an essential part of mine; those whose ideas interest, stimulate and challenge me; those to whom I am growing in closer bonds of affection and understanding; even those I have never seen, but from whose skills and work I benefit each day. Thank you for the rich world of relationships, of which I am a part. Remind me today of how my own work is being done for the benefit of other people. Help me, therefore, to produce my best for them, to take into account their feelings and thoughts and to treat each person as one who matters.
Amen.
Thank you, Lord God, for the refreshment of sleep and strength for the new day. Thank you for this opportunity to catch breath, and to begin the day with a sane outlook and a balanced perspective. You are the source of all health-physical, mental and spiritual. Throughout this d me even beyond my death. Every new beginning I have made has been attempted through strength and inspiration you have given. Because my life is not wholly what it should be, help me to begin again this day with you.
Amen.