The Mission Board October National Day of Prayer

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2 The Mission Board October 2017 National Day of Prayer The 2017 General Assembly instructed the Mission Board to arrange and coordinate a day of prayer and fasting across the Church on St Andrew s Day each year. Guidelines & Prayer Points To this end we have much pleasure in enclosing Guidelines for Leaders and a set of Prayer Points. The Mission Board have prepared the Guidelines and Prayer Points, with contributions from members of the Board of Trustees and others. Each congregation is of course free to make whatever arrangements they see fit and which they consider comply with the requirements of the Assembly. We hope, however, that the attachments act as useful prompt for matters, which may be the subject of prayer. Fasting We have not offered any guidance on fasting and we expect that each congregation will decide on this matter in advance of the day and make whatever arrangements they decide appropriate. The remit is of course to pray for the nation and for the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the land. The Board interpret the land to refer at least to the UK and Scotland, the peoples, institutions, and governance of these nations. Prayer Article Rev. David Meredith Finally, can I recommend that you read an excellent article on this topic by our Mission Director, Rev. David Meredith: We wish you God s blessing in this work. Rev. Dr Bob Akroyd Chairman

3 Participating in the National Day of Prayer We greatly value your support in organising the National Day of Prayer. Each congregation I of course entirely free to make whatever arrangements they think fit to carry out the General Assembly remit of a National Day of Prayer and Fasting for the nation and the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the land. The following guidelines are aimed at helping local congregations who would like more specific guidance and pointers as to how to make the most of this important day. Our hope is that as many people as possible from across the country will be involved, so we ask that you encourage everyone in your congregation to take part. A basic simple format for the day is set out below. There will be three main parts: Sunrise Early Morning Prayer Meeting All Day Open Doors for Open Prayer Sunset Service of Worship and Prayer We are conscious that different details will suit different areas; so, the following guidelines are suggested only to help you make arrangements that will best suit your own area. Sunrise Early Morning Prayer Meeting When: We suggest a meeting lasting approximately 1 hour at some point between 6am 9am. Our main aim is that the day begins with an opportunity for prayer together, so please arrange and intimate a time that is suitable to your context. Where: We suggest that if congregations with suitable church Building utilise them. If your congregation doesn t t possess a building, we suggest using a manse, member s home or even hire/share a church hall with another congregation. How: The format would be very simple; each congregation can do what will best suit their context. This could be a time of open prayer, elder led prayer, silent prayer, or a combination of all these. It would be good if prayers focused on praise, thanksgiving, confession and repentance, intercession. The meeting could also include Bible readings, and if you wish, a short address/message and offering. We want to leave it down to members of the congregations to decide whether or not they will fast. If not, congregations may feel free to have an informal prayer breakfast style event.

4 All Day - Open Doors for Open Prayer When: 9am 7.30pm. We suggest that between the hours of pm your congregations devote time to pray together. Where: If possible, it would be good to have a central location where people can come together throughout the day, such as a church hall, or in a home. But it must also be emphasised that the location is not essential, and those who cannot physically come to the building can still take part by praying at home or at work. How: The format for this aspect of the day can be very flexible. People should feel that they can come and participate as and when they can. Options include, having a rota of people which will commit to praying during different hours of the day. Alternatively, church groups can meet together and pray at specific times. Or, the churches can simply be kept open all day for people to come and pray as and when they can. We hope to distribute prayer points to congregations which congregations can make use of if they wish. These can be distributed to individual members. There will be a time of worship led by the Mission Board on the evening of Thursday 30 th November. The service will begin at 7.30pm, where there will be a short address from Rev. Andrew Robertson. It is hoped that this event will be live streamed, so congregations / individuals can listen as part of their day of prayer. Sunset: Service of worship and Prayer When: Between 7.30pm and 9pm we suggest that people are encouraged to come together for a special service of worship and prayer to conclude the day, and to encourage ongoing prayer in the everyday life of God s people. Where: If possible, Presbyterians may gather all their congregations in one venue for a time of corporate prayer and worship. Alternatively, local congregations can come together in their own meeting place. How: We leave this down to the discretion of each Presbytery. We suggest that ministers, elders and members could be included in this service. The current moderator of Presbytery could preside over the meeting, a minister/elder to led in various prayers of intercession for ministers, elders, presbytery, country and offering. We suggest an offering should be collected. However, we leave it down to the discretion of the church leaders to decide where the money should go. Since mission

5 is a key aspect of the day, we suggest donations to the Mission fund and Seminary fund would be a good idea. We would urge you to encourage as many as possible in your congregations to take part. There are various ways in which people can be involved: An invitation should be given to the morning prayer meeting and the evening service. Transport arrangements should be offered if needed. Please give clear intimation of your local congregation s plan for the day. We do not wish to be prescriptive, but we would want members to know clearly how and where they can participate. Please take the opportunity in the weeks running up to the day of prayer to emphasise the importance and power of prayer in the life of the church. Resourcing the National Day of Prayer Communication Guidelines A range of resources have been brought together to support the publicity efforts of the NDOP, and to encourage participants to engage with it. The most up to date resources available for NDOP can be found via NDOP webpage at freechurch.org/mission/day-of-prayer This webpage will be the resource space to download both promotional materials to help publicise the NDOP, in addition to where you should be able to download suggested prayer notes as they are developed in support of NDOP. Currently you should be able to download promotional PowerPoint slides, in addition to graphics to overlay on congregational Facebook pages. Social media support You can find graphics for Facebook profile photos and cover photos on the NDOP webpage. Additionally, should you use Twitter, you can also download a cover photo for Twitter pages on the NDOP webpage. #fcndop17 If you use social media, please consider using dedicated National Day of Prayer hashtag, it will allow us to follow your posts and to help share them more easily. You can also share information of how you hope to be marking the NDOP via a submission form on the NDOP webpage. If you have a story that you would like us to consider sharing re NDOP, please let us know.