24/7 Prayer at Beverley Minster

Just returned from celebrating a friend's birthday in Beverley.

Included a visit to Beverley Minster for the Palm Sunday service as our friends are the vicar and his wife. The service included a donkey derby with a live donkey crash.

The front legs were formed by a brownie blindfolded with a donkey mask and then steered by another youngster as the back legs. Two rival teams competed round the congregation but one set of back legs had defective steering and crashed the blindfolded brownie into a stone pillar. 
Only a bloody nose resulted.
(I thought there was only one donkey in the Palm Sunday story.)

I returned the following day to look at the examples of prayer stations set up for 24/7 prayer throughout the week leading up to Easter. Have a look at the photos on Flickr.

The Beverley Minster network of churches includes a 
fresh expression of church known as the Minster Way.
The work to build community in a recent housing develoment to the north
of the town includes a listening service based in a health centre.

3 Good Resource Books

Multi-sensory Prayer has stacks of ready to use ideas collected by Sue Wallace from 10 years with Visions in York. For people who want to do more in prayer than just talk.

The Book of Uncommon Prayer was intended for use with Youth Ministry but has lots of content that is thought provoking and adaptable for lots of settings. CD of ambient music setting with liturgy voice overs for "Eucharist".

Have just finished re-reading Alternative Worship by Jonny Baker and Doug Gay.
Lots of well organised and simple things that will work in many types of church. Other more advanced ideas for the adventurous and resourceful. DVD with good examples of music, liturgy, photos and videos.

Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world.
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.


- Franciscan Benediction found here.