Christian Coffee House - Prayer/Chat thread. No rubbish church coffee allowed.

[Madhairday]

With the latest prayer thread coming to an end, we thought we would create a new thread for prayer and general chat too - we had chat threads running for years alongside prayer threads, and we thought it would be great to combine them. I try and collate some of the prayer requests from the last thread in the next few days. In the meantime, dive in! Lurkers/newbies - you are welcome to post. Feel free to start any chat subject about Christianity, church, worship etc, and do share any prayer needs.
Would love to hear from those who were on previous threads and haven't been around for a while, too. Come and let us know how you are.

During my devotional time this morning on this new app MHD recommended, the focus was community and I remembered that the people of the MN prayer thread were the ones that sustained me in a transition between churches many years ago now. I thought it was rather nice that God reassured me through you guys yesterday.

Have a good week, all.

Hi Charlotte. Ive found people posting on the mumsnet religion boards to be really helpful in my own faith journey. It can be so hard to get anyone's opinion on religious matters, such a minefield IRL.

I've been known to go along to non conformist methodist church for boys brigade mass or children's worship. Sometimes I've encountered God's grace more plainly there than in Catholic mass. That doesn't stop me seeing Catholic mass as "the real thing". Go figure. 🙄

I wish I could encourage you to give you local Catholic church a whirl but would point out that strictly we ask non-Catholics to go up for a blessing at communion rather than the host (my lovely methodist friend ignores this and goes anyway!). In this covid age it might not be a bad thing for you. The other plus is that all the little rituals that make Catholic mass seem a bit of a closed shop to outsiders are being revised because of Covid so you can fit right in with all the people wondering what's going on! If you do go dont be afraid to introduce yourself after mass (the priest will be delighted). Equally you can fly under the radar really easily. I think a lot of people just bide their time.

The community Anglican church has got to be worth a try. Have you looked to see if they are on Facebook? We dont have a website but use Facebook.

Charlotte its so good to see you here, I remember you! So glad you're finding Lectio 365 helpful. I love it and know what you mean about being helpful for days I can't find words. it really settles me. I don't do it every day but always find it calming and lovely when I do.

Reasons for church - I'm raging extrovert so love to be with people and adore my church community. Realise this is more difficult if you're more introvert but I still think community is really important and as it says in the Bible it's good to keep the habit of meeting one another. I think we can challenge one another to greater holiness and Christian living, and worship together is an incredible thing (appreciating that so much more now we're missing it). You could look for an online church on FB or YouTube for now where you don't have to be present like on zoom, but can still be an enriching experience, but I would encourage you to go along to the churches nearby and see how they feel to you. Id also very much say that chruhc is not just Sunday mornings in a big building. Church is homegrpups, it's online stuff, it's Bible studies, it's here on the chat and prayer thread. Church is where God's people meet up and support one another and exhort one another to get closer to God and reach out to others.

I'm sorry things have been so tough

No Facebook group for any churches there. I will wait and see.

Hi MHD. You speak wisdom as you always have! Things haven't been so bad. In many ways these strange few months have been like a long pause of life and its business, which I've enjoyed. It is a bit unsettling at the moment with so much of my future up in the air: house move, church move, and then on top of all that, no timetable for next year yet (I'm a teacher)!

But this is all a good exercise in trusting God. And I'm getting there!

It sounds like an unsettling time, Charlotte. I pray you find a good place to be in church in whatever way God is calling you too.

How is everyone? How is it a week since I posted, the days seem to dash by right now don't they. Has anyone started going back to church physically yet?

Sending love to you all.

I have walked up to the church a few times. It has a beautiful churchyard and is in a lovely park. It will be a while before it is open again as it is very old and would need a lot of cleaning. I’m not in a hurry to go back inside, but find it a comfort to sit just outside to pray. I am struggling with the compulsion to wear face masks and have been overcome by a panicky desire to get back outside and rip it off the few times I have tried.

That's lovely about the churchyard Oma. It sounds very peaceful and lovely. I know just what you mean about the mask. I tried to wear one and could last a very short time and couldn't with any exertion eg going upstairs.

Have you tried different masks. Some are definitely better than others.

I only went the once and that was just to sit inside and pray. I haven’t been since they started doing mass again. It doesn’t sound like it’s been very busy, so I might go one day next week.

Mind you, the bus is a different issue, so perhaps not.

Our church (which meets in a school usually) is having our usual online service next week, but then meeting up on the school field for a picnic and fellowship time. Groupings of 6 households, all to keep 2m apart on their own picnic rug, strictly timed so 20 mins eat own food and chat/fellowship, 20 mins discussing the service, 20 mins led prayer. Marquee for older folk, the ones who feel safe enough to come anyway. Then no hanging round afterwards!

It's going to be weird but I'll give it a go. We're repeating for two further Sundays in August. I feel for those with younger kids as I can't see how parents are going to keep them apart, calmly?

@JulyBreeze that sounds lovely. I wish our church did meet ups like that. I join in with my friends' methodist church for lovely community activities. Later this summer we are going to have our annual "messy church" summer picnic which will be great after all this time only seeing them on zoom.

Hi MHD are you finding life a little busier again? I saw your poem/video it looked great and was very lovely. It seems you have found some real inspiration and positive output from these miserable months of lockdown. It's good going!

I'm back into going to church and not so bothered about watching the live stream in the week now. From next week we move back to services in our usual church as our priest starts to open up the other parish church. I actually prefer the older traditional style church Ive been going to. Its got special sentimental resonance for me, is prettier and it has a more established community. Still I'm going to support "my" usual church and have started mentioning the reopening to school mums and dads (it's the school church). I find it a bit depressing when our big modern church is very empty. I know its hard on our priest that the community has fallen apart a bit. But at least the older crowd are still coming. I thought the older folks would stay away and in fact they are all back!

Doesn't feel unsafe but we are losing a lot of our usual traditions and its not the same when there's no singing.

It's so difficult to "get it right" when you're used to certain things. I was reading and told everyone to stand and the priest reminded us all to remain seated and I just cringed. Plus not being able to stand or kneel does my back in on the hard seats. I have to offer it up like a good Catholic (Not my style!).

I even took the kids. They asked to come. I think they like getting out and seeing people, poor things. I thought it would be stressful with a 6yo in tow... and it was! I'd was sat right at the front (so not my choice) and I just had to hope everyone behind me didn't mind him being a live wire!!

I've managed to be the reader in 4/5 weekend masses in the last month. Once before lockdown ended and I finally got round to recording a reading. Then since then few of the readers have been back at mass so I've had it sprung on me twice and got to prepare once. I am managing not to be so nerve wracked with all this practice.

We may have an open air Eucharist service, but next week it is still on line. I am going over to a choir friend and her family, taking my own iPad. We had a wonderful service this morning, our lay reader took the service and the rector provided the technical support. We even saw the baby, his mother looked shattered.

Hello all, long term lurker! Our church is still closed and it's online presence non existent so I've been taping into friends churches and have found it a real blessing, plus each Sunday evening we've been able to join in 2 hours of beautiful music which Jonathan Veira has been live stream from his Facebook page, it's amazing the community that has sprung up around this, suspect lots of you would know of him from Spring Harvest! We've had a real answer to prayer overnight which I just wanted to share, Jonathan launched a crowd funder to be able to release a 'lockdown album' of all the songs everybody has been listening to for 17 weeks now and in just one evening has nearly reached £12,000 target! We have all been so bless by this guy's humour and humility, give it a try at 8pm on a Sunday or anytime during the week because it really does lift your spirits and ease your soul for the coming week, the best thing I've found about lockdown is rediscovering Jesus in all the creativity people have been using

👋 anyone about? Am finding things hard going today, various reasons in combination, not least that I now probably can't go to our first in-person church gathering tmrw. Have been finding it hard to pray this week.

How are you feeling, @Madhairday, on the day shielding "pauses"?

Hi everyone, I had an email from MN today as someone had tagged me in a local thread. So I thought I'd come and have a look here too! :)

Hi @JulyBreeze Im sorry you having a hard time. Sometimes (I find often) it is hard to pray. We will have to pray for you instead!

Although it's sad to be missing the church meeting its maybe safest not to go right now. Lots of online options as well. I hope you are not feeling too bereft by not being able to go. We end up looking forward to these things and having plans cancelled feel worse when its been so long awaited.

Hello @Bluetinkerbell. The thread has been quiet lately. Have you posted before? I dont always remember names. Welcome!

Tonight we reopened the other parish church. I found it a bit intimidating to be asked to steward. I couldn't concerntrate on mass as it stressed me out. The church is generally run by older people who have been there for years and I feel like a newbie who has only been coming a few years! They are nice but I feel like I turned up 20 years too early for this 'active in the church' thing. I hear people talk here and elsewhere about their "younger" churches with more families and so on. It would be nice to feel less out of place. I hope that doesn't sound mean. I know church is about God and community is community regardless of age.

Bluetinkerbell o wow, lovely to see you. Do stay around, I have missed you.
Julybreeze we all have times that we need others to pray for us when we cannot pray for ourselves. Share if you want to (have the energy to), no worries if you don’t, I will still pray.

I heard yesterday that a friend from ‘old church’ had tested positive for Covid-19. She lives with quite close friends. Although I have not seen any of them since lockdown, maybe not even since Christmas, this is the closest it has come to me and it has sent me scuttling back into my shell. So I was totally on my own for the communion service from ‘new church’ which came from inside the church for the first time and was an amazing experience. Feeding of the 5000: The disciples looked down at their own resources, Jesus looked up to heaven, to God’s resources.

I've felt out of place, age-wise, in church too, Zen. It doesn't help the population is skewed towards older people round here.

I'm fairly rubbish at conventional praying as I am very quiet anyway. Constructing sentences is tiring at the best of times! I tend to think of prayer as spending time quietly aware of God's presence. I hope that he speaks into my thoughts at those times and it feels like the right start to the day even though I don't seem to "accomplish" much.

Thank you Dutchoma missed you too!
Our local church service hasn't started back in person yet. I do miss it.
I have very carefully, after 6 years, restarted the process to train for ordination. It is scary and exciting at the same time and not sure where it will lead at the moment.

Praying many blessings on that process. You would not be the first one who started that process of growth towards ordination on the soil of Mumsnet.

Hi Blue, great to see you on here! I'm very excited about your journey :)

Thank you so much @ZenNudist for your kind words about my poem. Encouragement so helps because it feels so very vulnerable putting my poetry out there, my new book of poems and stories will be published in October and it's just as scary as the first time!!

Oma, sorry to hear about the lady with covid. It's so hard when it becomes real to us isn't it. My friend has long tail covid and is so very ill with it still after 5 months 😢

@JulyBreeze thank you for asking. It's weird because it's lovely to be out of shielding but I got sick the moment I came out really, another infection, my body just can't take the world and was happier in shielding which sucks!

Thanks @madhairday it was the job interview and not getting the job back in February that sparked it all up again. After a long, very tearful chat with our vicar 2 weeks ago and a meeting with a new spiritual accompanier, I'm feeling much more positive. It only took me 6 years to get to that point 😂

Sometimes the time is not right and then sometimes it is. Whatever is right for you in God’s eyes, will happen.

@Bluetinkerbell I wish you well with your path to ordination. Just added you to my prayer list. It's such a brave choice and one I hope brings you many blessings. I'm sure more challenges ahead so I pray God supports you with those.

@JulyBreeze I have been praying for you too. I am on holiday so have more time to pray. I like @CharlotteCollinsneeLucas idea of letting God speak to your thoughts and that prayer time doesn't have to be productive as it were.

I have decided to mark my holiday by starting every day with lectio365. By good luck (God's grace?) They have restarted a new 6 week cycle. The theme of hospitality speaks to my life lacking in space to welcome new things and in particular we were praying about welcoming people -especially those who are unlike me. I decide to interpret this as a reminder to be open to my church community regardless of age difference. Still its nice to be able to voice that misgiving (that Im too young to be 'active in the church') here. I felt really fed up by my dogged insistence in involving myself in church despite it sometimes stressing me out and not giving me the feelings of peace or transcendence that I know are possible. It's been a reminder as various preachers are so fond of saying not to get hung up on God's gifts / what God can do for me, and think of it instead as my chance to praise God and make time and physical space / place in my life for Him.

@Madhairday I am sad to hear that unshielding = immediate illness. It's a tough situation but I pray that you continue to be strong and your health improves.

Thank you @ZenNudist. I'm trying to get back into more regular prayer as it has slipped a bit recently. God used a lovely walk including a ruined brickworks to speak to me this morning!

Hope you are able to feel stronger soon @Madhairday.

Anyone about? I pray that it's good, joyful reasons keeping anyone from posting on here for a while!