Encounter prayer gathering DELEGATES’ THOUGHTS NICKY WARING STROUD I’m part of the Core Recovery Church and God has been building us into a real community. I came to the prayer gathering to encourage other people and to see what God’s saying to us all. One of the highlights of the weekend was what the TC shared on Sunday morning. It was spot on for where we are as a corps and The Salvation Army as a whole.
retired officer who runs a Core Recovery Church in Neath, and Paul Huggins, the chaplain at Charter Row Lifehouse who helps lead the Oasis community, which is rooted in Core Recovery Church principles. At the end of the session Naar MfundisiHolloway (THQ) spoke about the listening phase of the territory’s Structure Co-ordination and Design Project, which aims to support local mission flourishing, and invited delegates to pray for the territorial leaders and others with territorial responsibilities. On Sunday morning the TC spoke about pioneering in the territory as well as the need for some of the valued but established work to be done in new and innovative ways. He illustrated this by referring to London’s sewers, where new systems are being built and some of the Victorian network is being renewed. Turning to an Old Testament image he mentioned a tunnel that King Hezekiah arranged to
have built to divert spring water into Jerusalem in the late 8th century BC. He said the Army needs to allow ‘the living water of Christ – that will sustain us and enable us and give us life and bring us freedom and fruitfulness – to flow into our hearts and lives’. The final session included worship, time for prayerful response and another Godly Play story brought by Captain Vanessa, in which delegates were invited forward to rearrange objects on a story board to illustrate what God was saying to them. Throughout the weekend there was the opportunity to spend time at prayer stations set up in the chapel and to place Post-It Notes on the wall of the main conference room so people could share what they had heard from God. Having been able to listen to God in various ways over the weekend, delegates were encouraged to go on listening and to be responsive to him as they returned to their own settings across the territory.
MAJOR MARJORY PARROTT SWADLINCOTE I’ve been coming to these prayer weekends for a long time. It’s just brilliant to get together with people who are serious about praying. This time I wanted to listen to what God was saying for the future of The Salvation Army. I feel we need to focus on the name of Jesus and ask ourselves how powerful we will allow that to be in our lives and ministry. I’ve been struggling a bit with how we can be effective as we come through the Covid-19 pandemic, so the weekend was a reminder that God has a plan for us. EVIE LOVE HIGH WYCOMBE This was my first prayer gathering. What drew me was that friends who’d been before were really uplifted and enthusiastic. I came to give myself more to God and to ask for his guidance and his love. I feel very much that that’s happened this weekend. The testimonies from the Core Recovery team were very impactful for me – also Anthony and Gill’s talk about going back to our roots. I will definitely come again and I would encourage anyone to come and be willing to experience it.
Salvationist 12 February 2022
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