Yate and Fromeside Mission Area has created a prayer stream over the past months, bringing together eight people from churches across the Mission Area to meet regularly to discuss and implement prayer initiatives.
Revd Julia Chard, Associate Minister at Fromeside Benefice of churches, is the prayer stream leader.
She said the undertaking had been a fruitful challenge with a learning curve as all eight people came from different traditions and had different levels of prayer experiences.
Julia said: As most of the group didnt know each other, the first objective was to create a safe space where everyone could get to know and trust each other. Peoples confidence is growing and there is faithfulness of the prayers.
The prayer stream has set up training and quiet days to also help facilitate this. The group organised a Listening day on Saturday 23 March led by facilitators from Acorn Christian Healing Foundation and it was attended by representatives from the majority of churches in the Mission Area. Module 2 will soon follow on Saturday 1 June.
It has been a great journey of working and learning together so far.
Another initiative was the introduction of quiet days, which were set up in the Fromeside benefice and attended by people from across the Mission Area. These days were helpful for encouraging thinking about different ways of praying.
A teaching session will be held at St Peters, Frampton Cotterell, on Sunday 28 July, exploring different styles of prayer, followed by evensong.
The spiritual author Margaret Silf will teach about transformation on a reflective basis at St Marys Church, Yate on Saturday 17 August.
It has been a great journey of working and learning together so far, and I look forward to further initiatives, said Julia.
Members from the prayer stream have created a movable prayer board. People are asked to reflect on the image of a flowing river and the connectedness between the individual churches and the Mission Area.
Julia said: It has been a fun endeavour—even with the challenge of adapting and moving it monthly into the different churches.
The prayer board serves to make and create a connection with all of the eight churches in the Mission Area, by being a simple and accessible introduction to prayer within the church and in the community. It illustrates the Mission Area working together. On the prayer board, people can place a leaf prayer on the tree of life. These prayers then are gathered into an inclusive prayer whenever church members gather, to bolster the spiritual growth in the Mission Area.
The created Mission Area Prayer has been a success and it is read regularly at most services in the churches, and is seen as a recognisable resource.
Julia said: We have a lot to thank God and wait for guidance into our next steps and involvement in building up the kingdom in the Mission Area.
Yate and Fromeside Mission Area warmly invites you to join them for the Learning day with Margaret Silf on Saturday 17 August at St Marys Church, Yate. Cost for attendance is by a donation, and there will be a potluck lunch—so please bring a plate of something to share. For further information and to register contact office@fromesidechurches.org.uk
The Yate and Fromeside Mission Area is a mission partnership between the parishes of the expanding town of Yate and the Fromeside Partnership. Together they are committed to focusing on growth in numbers, discipleship, leadership and engagement with young people.
Mission Areas are a strategic initiative of the Diocese of Bristol bringing parishes together to serve alongside one another with a coordinated approach to mission, sharing resources and ideas. Learning from the Mission Areas is collected and shared to inspire and resource mission activity across the Diocese.