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.

Sorry to hear that Augustbreeze. Praying now for you and your ds.

Only just seen this. Hoping that things look a bit better in the light of day. Prayers for you and your son.

Thanks all

I lost this thread again. Keeping you and your DS in my prayers, August.

How are we all feeling about the end of collective worship for the next few months?

Thank you @RafaIsTheKingOfClay.

I feel OK, and was so pleased I got to church this morning as both of our newest members (babies born a few days apart, two weeks ago) made their debuts and it was truly lovely!!! 👶 💕

And was pleased to learn later that babies and pre schoolers are not to be included in the "one other person outside" rule, as the babes are both first borns.

Praise God for more thought for new mums and single people this time round.

I don’t think the restrictions are going to make a lot of difference and are going to cause a lot of hurt and upset. I think more and more that, no matter what we do, this thing has got to burn itself out. It took a couple of centuries to wipe out smallpox and there was a vaccine, tb is still prevalent, maybe we need to learn to live with the illness and accept that we are all going to die at some stage and have to accept some risk. So many people I know have died this summer, none from Covid.
Suspension of public worship may well be very counter productive, I am certainly very unhappy about the prospect that I cannot sing :Yes, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning, on Christmas morning. We recorded a few things this morning, but it is not the same.
No amount of lockdown is going to get rid of the disease, especially not if the schools are kept open.
I know it is a very gloomy message, but four weeks without seeing anyone is making me feel gloomy.

I don't think to come on this board often enough, but I felt lead here this evening. Both Augustbreeze's comments about new mums and single people, and Dutchoma's last post really resonated with me.

I'm very despondent about the new lockdown and it was good to be reminded that there are little bits to thank God for, and to know that I'm not the only one who feels that it's not going to make much difference and may not be worth the suffering.

So thank you both.

Hi August you and your DS are in my prayers. Praying also for those here who are feeling the oppression of lockdown before it has begun. It is a gloomy time of year anyway and second time round feels worse.

Not happy that we have to give up going to church and I can't see that socially distanced worship is so dangerous. The government have no appreciation of what's important. I feel bad for other religions too who must be feeling really marginalised and under-represented in governmental considerations. I hope this time Boris &c see fit to reopen churches before pubs!

There is private prayer as an option but I dont go to church for private prayer. Though maybe I should start.

One positive is that at least on the live stream we might get to sing. I may email our priest to remind him to line up some hymns, they have been sadly lacking since church reopened. I also want to offer to record a reading.

I tend to agree with Dutchoma that lock down not going to do much good. And if the aim was to not overwhelm the nhs they should have locked down for half term. Still glad they didn't as its been nice to enjoy some time out from my four walls with the dc. Seems like it was well timed given November is looking grim. So thankful schools are staying open.

Praying everyone here stays healthy and has God's support to get through whatever challenges this November brings.

Hello all, just found this thread, what a great idea! I haven't been able to read through much but in response the Rafals question about the end of public worship again. I think I am going to find it very hard. I had my first DC as lockdown was put in place in March and the sudden loss of being able to go to church as well as really struggling with a newborn meant that I felt like I didn't have the time or mental capacity to dedicate to prayer or reading or reflection or even watching services online. I ended up feeling very disconnected from my church community but also from God and my faith has really struggled. I wouldn't pretend that in the couple of months when we have been able to go to church again have brought me back to where I was before but it was helping. I can't help but feel like I going to end up going backwards. Its so sad with Advent just around the corner. It was weird enough not being able to go over Easter.
Hopefully this thread will give me some ideas of things I can do in my own time that will help nurture my faith. And that I will find the motivation to do them!

Hello all! I've been a bit quiet on here, sorry, it's been a bit crazy in mhdworld but I want to catch up here and see how you're all doing. Just seen the new shielding advice for lockdown and they are advising us to keep 2 metres away once again from family. Don't know if I can 😢

Welcome to all newbies, it's so lovely to see you here! I will try and have a proper read through lately. God bless you all.

AtomicSquash welcome and congratulations on your little one. I hope you find the thread helpful, it has been a bit quiet of late, as MHD says.
It is ok though to stand back a bit from church and prayer and all that. If you can have a little bit of time in your busy schedule of looking after little one, just think of Jesus and His love for you and also your baby, that will do for now.
I am quite sad about the new lockdown, we were just going to get a little bit back to normal and now it seems as if we are right back to square one. We recorded a few Chrstmas numbers after the service on Sunday, but we cannot even have the open air Remembrance service as there would be too many people in the churchyard. It is an awful lot of work for our rector.

Thanks Dutchoma that actually sounds like really solid advice. Sometimes I feel like I am making excuses for myself and other times I feel I need to be kinder to myself. I expect it is probably a bit of both.

I too feel bad for everyone who has put so much work into making sure our churches are 'Covid secure', just for it all to be shut down again. I was at our last mass before lockdown yesterday evening and it was all quite emotional.
I am glad you managed to record some Christmas music though, hopefully we will manage to have some kind of semblance of a normal Christmas, although I am in the North and I can't help but feel that our area atleast won't be going to back to public worship in December. Maybe there is hope of a last minute Christmas reprieve but that seem a bit unfair on other religions for whom no exception is made.

Welcome atomicsquash. Pull up a pew.

I'm not sure how I feel about new lockdown rules. If all churches are the same as ours I can't see much is going to be gained from it in terms of infection control. But then again, if everywhere is shut it'll be easier to police in terms of the places of worship that aren't following the rules. And it does help to reinforce the idea that people should be reducing the amount of time they spend indoors with other people if possible. Tbf, I've only been to mass once since they reopened, but I miss having the opportunity to go if I need to.

Feeling frustrated tonight. Went back to work after three months off and they offered switching me off parts of the job that involved most social contact and giving me more admin stuff. Got a new rota through today that is definitely not that. I don't think I've got the energy for a fight over it.

We still have church services (Scotland) but everything is very reduced - the church could probably hold about 150 people in normal times but numbers are now limited to about 23 so everyone can stick to 2 metre distancing. I've not been to a service yet as I get on OK with zoom and so have left the seats in the church for the folk who can't use it.

I've been thinking about buying an advent candle to light each night next month. Can anyone recommend a book with advent readings to think about while the candle is lit? I've never done anything like that before so it'll be nice to try something different.

shop.alivepublishing.co.uk/category/WWMADV

We use these at Church. Am thinking about getting some LED advent candles and doing an Advent wreath. I’d do an advent candle but my flat is rented and I’m not supposed to have actual candles.

Oddly enough, I am not - in the organised sense - a Christian (you might describe me as an Independent, in the 17th century puritan sense, so far as I'm anything) but am feeling somewhat drawn to the light here tonght. Like an moth, probably.
There are so many grieving people on the forum tonight and there is nothing at all I can do to comfort them but pray - and nor would I burden them with the knowledge that I, a stranger, have taken it on myself to ask God to hold them, in my arrogance.

With the darkness and the wind outside it feels very dark and lonely tonight, in a spiritual sense.

@applesandpears33 I've just written one if you're interested - only a short one with a page a day with reading, reflection and prayer. I can DM you the details if you like or look out on FB as I'll put it up on there tomorrow.

MHD - that sounds great. I'll look out on facebook. I quite like the idea of forcing myself to have some quiet time away from everything each day. And a candle will make me do it for a set period of time.

Hi Cattermole. I often pray for people and almost never mention it to them. If God acts to bless them, great!

I think light is a powerful symbol of God with us, especially as the nights draw in and the weather worsens.

Our church meets in a school and we have only had one service, on the school playing field, since March. We do have services on You Tube and Facebook every week and various Zoom meetings, and the leaders have done their best to keep in touch with everyone, but it is a sad state of affairs.
I watch a service from Germany every week and they are socially distanced and wear masks, but they are allowed to sing!
I am becoming more and more sceptical about all these measures to control us.

Of course ‘they’ will say that it is not to control ‘us’, but the disease In a way I have some sympathy for ‘them’, but the way things have been handled (Dido Harding and Dominic Cummings anyone?) makes me less keen to cooperate. It feels like ‘always winter and never Christmas.’ There is thick fog this morning and I find it had to believe that spring WILL once again come.

I am no Tory fan and think they have handled some of it badly (PPE, track and trace, too late to lock down etc) but I wouldn't want to be in their position and think they are fumbling round in the dark between a rock and a hard place, science and the economy. I really don't think there is any control element though. They're just trying to contain the virus as it's proven that countries who contain the virus are doing best economically too which does make sense. I get really upset by a lot of the covid threads which talk a lot about control as if we're living in 1984 or something, really this is nothing like that. It's rubbish all round and there's no good solution. I see why they felt they had to close churches even though they are pretty covid secure if they went by the rules, they have to draw a line somewhere. It's hard but we will get through it. I often miss out on Christmas stuff as I get sicker this time of year and it's really tough but it's always somehow a time I learn more of God and somehow encounter him in the great depths of it all - Jesus meets us in those in-between spaces, spaces where we are waiting with longing for spring to come and dawn to break, in the far reaches of the darkest night he meets us and sustains us. When everything else is stripped away he is still there, still the very centre of it all, still the thrill and delight and glory of Christmas. And it's digging into that truth that will be our consolation through these long months

You are very welcome here, @Cattermole.

Hello, can I join in your chat please? If anyone's around :) I'm only an intermittent churchgoer, actually usually really struggle with church, I'm generally not a people person and there has been so much drama in our local church recently. My husband is an enthusiastic atheist so no fellowship at home, this is not usually an issue but I have felt it through lockdown. In England so back to another lockdown and I'm feeling low and anxious again. Not really sure of the point of the post it Hi! And

Hello yummyyummy, I’m glad to see a new face as we have been a bit quiet here. An enthousiastic atheist? I find them a bit tiresome as they are so sure of themselves and not really prepared to look at someone else’s point of view. Trouble is of course that you cannot ‘prove’ God or fully explain why you believe. God ‘just’ is and you ‘just’ believe. And you can’t transfer that to anybody else, least of all if they are enthousiastic in their unbelief.
Struggle in the local church does not help either, but not being able to go to church (as at the moment) is even more difficult.

The only thing that I find helpful is to ‘just’ hang on, do what you can to be kind and ‘just’ get on with life as best you can. You do not have to prove God to anybody, He can do that for Himself, He has more patience than any of us.