Pause for thought: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew Chapter 9: verse 38
This week we are heading to Margam Abbey on Mission we have been praying about this and planning it for some time, alongside the business of the working term and placements for candidates. We hope that many people will come and visit to encourage us and see what is on offer. Please pray for us and for the Mission which will take place from Wednesday to Sunday.
I recently found a school report from when I was 8yrs and 4months old. One of the subject titles was ‘storytelling’, at which I apparently excelled! Many people do love to tell stories (not all of which are always helpful), but somehow we seem to have lost the ability to tell the story of our faith which are so fundamental to our lives as disciples today.
We pray for the grace to listen deeply to peoples stories and for the opportunity to tell our own stories of love and faith. We pray that we will be able to offer a space, alongside the Clergy of Margam Abbey, which enhances well being for those we encounter and for ourselves.
We will be offering hospitality – (proper) coffee and cakes and also Pimms for the Pimms and Hymns event! There will be activities for Children and prayer walks along the Pilgrim trails in Margam Park. We will have prayer stations inside the Abbey and some centring prayer sessions. All these things are great in and of themselves but so much depends on how they are offered and how they are received, please pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire and aid us in our task.
At the heart of Mission has to be our relationship with God and our desire to serve others and then there has to be our intention to go out and proclaim the good news of Jesus. In this period between Ascension and Pentecost many are observing ‘Thy Kingdom come’ (a global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus). If you would like to join us in praying this week here are the links for the English and Welsh prayers:
Gweddiau Cymraeg/Welsh Prayers
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Rev. Canon Richard Lowndes