In their announcement about the decision to suspend public worship gatherings, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York wrote that: 'Our life is going to be less characterised by attendance at church on Sunday, and more characterised by the prayer and service we offer each day.' What does it mean to have a life characterised by prayer? When life is at its busiest, we tend to cram prayer into one corner of the day, setting aside a few minutes either first thing in the morning or last thing at night. But things are different now. For now, our days have spaces they never used to have. How might we re-imagine our prayer lives in the light of this new 'normal'? Monastic communities have been self-isolating for centuries: living lives full of work, study, service and caring, all held steady by rhythms of prayer. They would punctuate their days with prayer. Whenever the monastery bell rang, they would stop what they were doing and step away to pray. Many communities still live that way today. As our lives change shape in this strange new season, so our prayer and worship must also change shape. That may be disconcerting at first, but it may also open the way to an uncommonly rich time of drawing near to God and connecting (non-physically of course) with one another. Below is an outline for a prayer rhythm which you might find helpful as you step into your ‘new normal’. It’s a ‘rich’ rhythm: rich in the sense that you can remember it by the letters R, I, C, H; rich in the sense that it’s adaptable and can be filled out with any number of other resources; and rich in the sense that it may be a way of enriching your days at a time when life may feel smaller and more claustrophobic. Here’s how it works … Morning Read: read the Bible and take time in God’s Word Lunch-time Intercede: for your local community, for the church and for the world Dinner-time Connect: contact 4 or 5 people you haven’t seen that day to hear their news and needs. Bed-time Hope: Rest your soul in a time of thankfulness for today and faith for tomorrow The following sections give some ideas to help you adapt this rhythm for your own situation, with links to useful resources. The first four sections give ideas for the four elements of the ‘RICH’ rhythm, and the final section is a collection of other websites where you can find prayer resources which might be helpful in planning your online services and prayer times. NB. There are two resources with ideas for how children and adults can pray together. Both are listed in the ‘General Resources’ section at the end of this guide, but they include activities which could be used for any of the four RICH focuses. ReadWhether you’re reading the Bible in paper form or on screen, there are various ways to nourish yourself in the Word of God:
www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-service-daily-prayer
www.ignatianspirituality.com/listening-for-god-in-scripture/
www.24-7prayer.com/dailydevotional
pray-as-you-go.org/prayer%20tools/
IntercedeThe world is vast and so are its needs. Your lunch-time interceding may be for situations close to home or on the other side of the world. Here are some ways to focus your prayers, so that the task doesn’t become overwhelming.
www.canterburydiocese.org/our-life/prayer/prayer-resources/calendar-of-prayer/
prayer-resources
www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/568723/Coronavirus_Call_to.aspx
cafod.org.uk/Pray/Prayer-resources/Coronavirus-prayers
www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/prayers-people-affected-new-coronavirus
www.24-7prayer.com/coronavirusprayer
www.24-7prayer.com/downloads/coronavirus_prayer_print_version.pdf ConnectAs we physically distance/isolate ourselves, here are some ways to strengthen our connections to one another in prayer.
www.neighbourhoodprayer.net/internal/coronavirus.php
If you enjoy writing or crafting, you could then make a card for each person, telling them you’ve prayed for them. You could either post it or take a picture of it and message it to them. HopeNight-time can be a battle-ground of worry and fear at a time like this, but a nightly rhythm of prayer and reflection can help us tune our hearts, minds and souls to peace.
www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray
www.rscm.org.uk/our-resources/hftd/ General ResourcesHere are some websites with ideas, written prayers and liturgies which may be of use in planning online worship. NB. If you wish to provide online worship opportunities, please remember that you may only broadcast from your own home, and may not have anyone present who does not live in your household.
www.thykingdomcome.global/stories/10-ideas-help-your-church-continue-worship-while-not-gathered
www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/how-to-use-daily-office/
oikodomeo.home.blog/2020/03/17/resources-for-prayer-when-public-worship-is-not-possible/
www.canterburydiocese.org/our-life/prayer/
www.rscm.org.uk/live-streaming-of-church-services/
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