We all know that Christmas is going to be very different this year.
Sadly, restrictions have curtailed any hope of multitudes attending a carol service by candlelight and gathering in communal worship and praise.
The same is likely to be said of Christmas at home too: this year we won't be opening our homes to extended family, friends and neighbours in the usual way.
It all feels quite challenging.
Yet despite all of this, the gift of prayer is alive and well. Emily Allen, Church Building Missioner in the Diocese of Chester says it's a gift we can all give freely with those we love and know, as well as those we don’t, and encourages us to be and encourages us to be braver in sharing this precious gift.
"Although our churches are all but closed and we find ourselves physically apart from one another this Christmas, spiritually, through Jesus, we can be together in prayer.
“Opportunities to pray for someone abound; we just have to recognise them and be braver in asking someone, ‘can I pray for you?’
“Prayer is a gift, that can be freely and abundantly offered and received by us all, whoever and wherever we are. Look around for opportunities to share the gift of prayer with others this Christmas.
“It may be engaging with people walking past the church building by creatively using the noticeboard or churchyard as intentional and invitational spaces of prayer, offering prayer digitally, or in person with those we encounter in our everyday lives. We can find God’s presence and his purpose around us all of the time.”
During the past few months, parishes have been devising creative and imaginative ways of sharing the gift of prayer.
In Sandiway, members of the church at St John the Evangelist gave away Prayer Bags to local residents as a way of encouraging prayer. With ‘light’ as the theme, each bag contained various ideas and items to help local people to pray, as well as information about how prayer can help us to, ‘Receive the Light’, ‘Reflect the Light’ and ‘Share the Light’.
In all, 180 bags were distributed to local residents who welcomed them with joy and enthusiasm, resulting in many messages of appreciation.
In Blacon, a team from Holy Trinity delivered chocolates to residents, with a small card attached saying 'Jesus loves you' and inviting anyone wanting prayer to contact the church.
The response hasn’t been universally positive, but as the curate explains, being bold enough to sow the seed anyway is what matters: “In the parable of the sower, God sows onto paths, rocks, shallow soil and good, not because he is too stupid to know the difference but because the important thing is that the seed is sown. The harvest takes time to grow. This side of heaven we may never see any impact. We are trying, in a small chocolate-coated way, to announce that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. The rest is up to him.”
How are you sharing the gift of prayer this Christmas season?
Everyday prayer in a pandemic
Listen to Archdeacon Mike Gilbertson and Emily Allen, Church Buildings Missioner in the Diocese of Chester, discuss how churches have adapted their prayer life in the pandemic. Contributors to this podcast include:
The Revd Beth Glover, St Mary's, Eastham
The Revd Dr Olive Igwe, St Andrew's, All Saints, and St Peter's, Crewe
Marta Jones, Churchwarden, St. Andrew's Crewe
Subscribe to our podcast by searching for Chester Box using your favourite podcast player.