wfn.org | AMEN! A DAY TO PRAY

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         For Immediate Release                       22.5.98

           Thousands Prepare for Nationwide Day of Prayer

Momentum is rapidly gathering pace for the nationwide day of prayer on
June 7th, with thousands of events being planned, ranging from
services in Parkhurst Prison and Catterick Army Garrison, to prayer
walks, fasting and churches throwing open their doors for community
prayers.

During the past week news of creative prayer initiatives have been
flooding into the London offices of the Evangelical Alliance, which is
co-ordinating Amen! A Day to Pray. 

In Greenwich, London, members from 10 local churches will gather to
pray overlooking the Millennium Dome.  George Hider, of London City
Mission, says that in addition to the four national themes of
community, government & leadership, revival and evangelisation, church
members will be praying that the Christian content of the Millennium
Dome makes a powerful impact.

Well over 5,000 special Amen! A Day to Pray resource packs for
churches have been mailed out by the Evangelical Alliance UK, and
orders are growing by the day.  Thousands of church services across
the denominations will be using the resource materials, ranging from
Nettleham Methodist Church, Lincoln, and Mount Pleasant Baptist
Church, Swansea, to Bradford Salvation Army and the Elim Pentecostal
Church, Harrogate.  Many churches in Northern Ireland and Scotland are
also taking part, such as Edinburgh West United Free Church of
Scotland and Orangefield Presbyterian Church, Belfast.

Taking the day's theme of community to heart, members of Southfields
Baptist Church, Wimbledon, are leafleting local estates inviting
residents to send or phone in prayer requests to the church. 
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Says Robert Grayson, Associate Pastor: "We do not want to presume that
we know everything that needs to be prayed about in our local
community, so we are asking them directly."  On June 7th members will
also 'prayer walk' the local area.

Bushey Baptist Church, Hertfordshire, are issuing an open invitation
for local people to join church members at a prayer breakfast at
8.00am on Sunday, or at anytime during the following 12 hours when the
church will remain open for prayer around the key themes of the day.

"We are producing fliers which will be given out at the local
community fayre the day before," explains Rev Andy Cowley.  "We opened
our doors on the day of Princess Diana's funeral and we are again
issuing an open invitation to people to come and pray. We hope that an
awareness of God will be raised."

Prayer walks are being arranged by a number of churches, including St
Chads Romiley, Stockport.  After three morning services featuring
prayer, followed by a church picnic, some of the 200-strong
congregation will break into small groups and pray for community
issues and local people as they 'walk the parish'.

At Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight, Joan Eskdale will use the resource
materials to lead inmates in prayer during the weekly Sunday morning
service, while at the 14,000-strong Catterick Garrison, one of the
three largest garrisons in the UK, soldiers will be invited to join a
special Amen! A Day to Pray prayer meeting being organised by chaplain
Rev Nigel Knights Johnson.

Children are playing an important role in many events on June 7th. St
Peter's Church Ravenshead, nr Mansfield, has given the whole day to
different prayer activities, beginning in the morning service when
Sunday School children and young people will lead the prayers using
materials based on the resource packs.                         

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"We will also have themed 'prayer stations' around the church to help
focus our private prayers in the afternoon," said curate Rev Ted
Steiner. "For example, we will gather at the font to pray for families
and the choir stalls to pray for worship." 

In Coventry, Walsgrave Baptist Church will introduce something akin to
'pass the parcel' into the morning service.  "When the music stops the
hidden prayer topic will be read out and then another person in the
congregation will pray for that issue," explained one of the
organisers. 

Meanwhile at St James's Church, Romford, Essex, a 'prayer clock' will
operate during the afternoon, with church members pledging to pray for
Amen A Day to Pray issues in slots of 10 minutes each.

Jane Holloway, Evangelical Alliance Prayer Secretary, says she is
delighted by the enthusiasm with which many churches have embraced the
day of prayer.

"We are very pleased at the level of response from churches from many
different denominational streams. It appears that Amen! A Day to Pray
is part of a growing desire among many churches to make prayer more
central to their life and worship."

The Evangelical Alliance are themselves organising an early morning
prayer service at the Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, Westminster.
The service, to be broadcast live on Radio 4 at 8.10am, will feature
Adoramus Choir, Joel Edwards of the Alliance; Canon Michael Saward of
St Paul's Cathedral; Lyndon Bowring of CARE; and Angela Sarkis of the
Church Urban Fund. People wishing to attend should arrive by 7.20am.

AMEN! A Day to Pray resource packs and further information are
available from a special hotline: 0171 207 2108.

Ends
Contact Keith Ewing 0171 207 2116 or Gavin Drake 0171 207 2117.