Articles - From the Vicar

Dear Friends

Brother Roger, who for many years led the Taizé community in France, once said "Make your churches places of prayer and people will come to them." We sometimes sense, when we walk into a church building, that here is a place that is prayed in. There is an atmosphere, a sense of peace or holiness, which is hard to explain rationally but that many people are aware of.

But Brother Roger's comment means more than this. When a church community becomes a people of prayer then something subtle but very real begins to change. Church becomes less about "what I am getting out of it" and becomes more an expression of real concern for others. It is also a sign that we are looking more to God and less to ourselves. Our prayer will spill over into our care and concern for others - pastorally, in terms of social justice, their spiritual well-being and so on. Brother Roger believed that people - whether in the church or in the wider community - will sense this. The subtle changes that happen in our church life and in our individual lives will communicate that here is a deep well of spirituality and love.

The danger is that we make our churches, and our lives, places of frenetic activity and endless responsibility. Of course many tasks do need to be done, but they are not the main reason we are here. Making sure that the life of prayer is nurtured is vital to a Christianity that is faithful, dynamic, and compassionate.

At St Edmund's there are many encouraging signs of being a place of prayer. For many years the Prayer Network (or Prayer Circle as we are now calling it) has existed. This is a group of people who commit to pray for others for any reason, for a period of two weeks, in a confidential way. You can access this at any time by phoning one of the members -their numbers are on cards on the Welcome Table at the back of church and will be printed in the magazine in future. There is also the Julian Group which meets twice a month in the Side Chapel to spend 30 minutes in stillness, resting in the presence of God and listening to him. Again details are on the Welcome Board, where you can also find the prayer request box. These requests will be prayed for by the clergy for a week, including at the Wednesday communion, before being passed to the Prayer Circle. There are also several quiet places for prayer in church. In the north and south transepts (either side of the altar rail) are two prayer stations for what is called "multi-sensory prayer" - placing a pebble in a pool, lighting a candle and so on. Up in the sanctuary area of the church there is now also a place to sit quietly and pray, with its own visual prayer focus.

Of course we offer prayer everyday in our homes, workplaces and communities, and our revised prayer diary encourages us to think beyond our immediate personal concerns to embrace the needs of our parish and world on a regular basis.

So I do hope and pray that St Edmund's will become even more a place of prayer and may Brother Roger's words come true among us.

With all good wishes
David

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay