Diocesan Vacancy in See Prayer Resources

Intergenerational and Interactive ways to pray

Here are some suggestions for helping people of all ages to join in with the call to prayer across the Diocese from February 3rd onwards as we begin the process of appointing a new Diocesan Bishop to succeed Bishop Richard.You could set up some prayer stations in your Church or School or choose one or two prayer activities to use in a service or at Messy Church, Café Church, lunch club, knit and natter etc... Or you could shape a whole sevice round prayer spaces…Choose which of these prayer spaces you would like to use first – there are lots – so you could use different ones on a different occasions. For each prayer space there is a card to print out for participants to follow – and it’s easy to work out from that what you will need to provide and how to set it up. The equipment needed for most of the prayer spaces is likely to be to hand, or easy to get/borrow.

For help or advice contact Kathy Bland, Intergenerational Church Enabler on k.bland@hereford.anglican.org or 01568 610785.

Huge thanks to Sarah Hare, Team Vicar in the Much Wenlock Team, and to Prayer Spaces in Schools (www.prayerspacesinschools.com) for many of the great prayer spaces and ideas included here.

We’d love to hear your ideas and see your pictures of prayer spaces – please send them to Kathy as above or to story@hereford.anglican.org

Bubbles

Blow bubbles as you say this prayer. Watch the bubbles as you think of the people, churches and schools you are praying for:

In all the people living and working in our Diocese… Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done.In all the churches that make up our Diocese…Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done.In all the schools, their staff and pupils … Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done.For all those working with children, families and young people…Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done.

In the process of seeking a new Bishop … Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done.In our seeking God’s will … Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done. Amen

We are all connected

We are all connected: write your prayers on coloured lolly sticks and join them together with other prayers

as you pray for the life of our Diocese and the people who live here.

Come Holy SpiritWe pray for the life of our Diocese

May the love of the Father fill our hearts May the light of Christ guide our living

May the breath of the Spirit give us life. We pray for the person God is preparing to be our

Bishop. We pray for all involved in the Bishop’s appointment.

We pray for ourselves as we prepare for the next phase of our Diocesan life.

Amen

Sandpaper and wool prayers

How can we, as Christians in this Diocese, be bringers of hope?Feel the sandpaper with your fingers. Think about people who live in our Diocese and especially those people who are finding life difficult. Ask God to help them.  As you pray, arrange the soft, coloured wool on the sandpaper as a sign of the new life and change you are asking God to bring. You might like to pray this prayer:

O come, O Holy Spirit come, Come as holy fire and burn in us Come as holy wind and cleanse us Come as holy light and lead us Come as holy truth and teach us Come as holy forgiveness and free us Come as holy love and enfold us Come as holy life and dwell in us

Playdough Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in in heaven, Hallowed be your nameYour kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in

heavenMake a crown and a ball to represent the world. Think about what the world could be like if God’s will was done on earth.

Give us this day our daily breadMake something you could eat and thank God for the food we

have.make a person and pray for people in the world who are hungry.

And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us

Squash the person as you think about things you have done. Make it again as you think how god forgives you and how you

can forgive other peopleLead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

Make a heart and think about how God protects us.For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory for

ever and everMake a ball to represent the world.

Hold it in your hand as you think of it being God’s kingdom Amen

Clearing Space and Preparing the Ground

As we begin to prepare our Diocese, our churches, our schools, and ourselves, for this time of transition,

and eventually for a new Bishop of Hereford, spend some time thinking about what that might

mean.When we plant seeds for the coming season, we clear

space, remove weeds and stones and make the ground ready to give the seeds the best chance of

growing.What stones might you need to clear in your life?

Jealousy? Resentment? Arrogance? Prejudice? Hostility? Hatred? Resistance to change?

Take a stone out of the wheelbarrow as you pray the God will help you to be like good soil, ready for the

new season.“May the God of hope

fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that

by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Romans 15:13

Light a Candle

The Lord will be your everlasting light and your God will be your glory.

Isaiah 60.19

Light a candle and pray that Godwill help you to shine brightly

and help the churches and schools in our Diocese be beacons of light and hope.

Give thanks for the shining lights that have gone before us and especially for Bishop Richard

as he continues to shine as a light in our Diocese in the coming months.

Footprints

We are on a journey together as a Diocese, as God’s people. We give thanks for Bishop Richard’s ministry here in this Diocese and for his vision of our “Follow” journey

together.

We pray for Bishop Richard and Kay in this last year of his ministry in the Diocese.

Make your footprints on the paper and remember your part in this journey. Pray for Bishop Richard and give thanks for his ministry and legacy to this Diocese. Pray as we journey on for God’s guidance and for those who will join us in this journey.

SHINE!We are called to shine the light of Christ in our communities and the places where we

are based.

Take a mirror tile and write on it what you want to show in your life and in the places you are in as you shine with God’s love with others.

Stick this to a picture of your church, community or a map of our Diocese

so that we can show together that we want to shine across this Diocese.

Hopes and PrayersAs we give thanks for what has been, and begin to look towards a transition, what are your hopes and prayers for you, your church, your community and our Diocese?

Take a square of paper and write your hope

or your prayer in it.

Fold the corners of the paper in to the centre of the paper.

Place the paper on the water and pray as you watch it unfurl and open out.

Bucket List!

People often make a bucket list

of things that they want to do in their lives.

If you could make a list of things that you would like to see our new Bishop involved in, what would you

write?

Where do you pray God will move in our Diocese?

Make a list of things that you hope might happen.

Take this home and place it in a place where you can see it and commit to pray for this

Building Together

Many people will be involved in the process of finding our new Bishop.

We need to pray for each other:o For each Parisho For each Deanery

o For our Vacancy-in-See Committee as they prepare our Statement of Needs and elect our

representatives for the Crown Nominations Commission

o For the Crown Nominations Commission when they meet in June and July

Add your prayer to the prayer tower:

Cross Centred

Over the coming months during the

Vacancy in See process we need to keep bringing

our longings, our hopes, our worries, to Jesus

Write your prayer on a piece of paper

Roll it up and place it in one of the holes in the cross

As you do this, pray and ask God to hear your prayer.

Leave it at the cross.

Fruits of the Spirit

During this process let us pray for the Holy Spirit

to move in our lives and in our Diocese.

The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

What would you like to pray for in your life

and in the life of your church, schools, community and our Diocese?

Write this on a leaf and place on the tree and pray for this.

Our Diocese

As we pray for the appointment of a new Diocesan Bishop, let

us pray across our Diocese: Light a tea light as you pray for an area in our

Diocese.

o Pray for Bishop Richard in his last year in our Diocese.

o Pray for Bishop Alistair during the transition.

o Pray for each other as we take our next steps on our journey together, seeking to Inspire each Generation, and prepare to welcome a new

Bishop to do this with us.