Latest Vicar's Letter

Did you know that some of our everyday words are rooted in prayer? The word ‘goodbye’ comes from a contraction of the medieval blessing ‘God be with ye’ which was said as a farewell. Prayer is intrinsic to most of the major religions. Jews and Muslims, for example, follow a pattern of daily prayer times. In Christianity, daily prayer times were observed by monastic orders and the church bell was rung. People heard the bell and said their own prayers wherever they were, working in the fields, or in the home. The industrial revolution changed work patterns and with it, personal prayer patterns. For Christians, following the example of Jesus, prayer is an important part of their faith.

During Lent, the North Chilterns Group will be taking a fresh perspective on prayer through our Lent Course. This will be on Tuesday evenings at Totternhoe Church Hall, The Ride, LU6 1RH. I have called the course ‘The Adventure of Prayer’ because praying doesn’t have to be a duty; it can be considered an adventure. Prayer is our opportunity to communicate with God, the creator of the universe. What could be more exciting than that? Gandhi once said, 'Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied it is the most potent instrument of action.’ If we believe that prayer makes a difference to the world, then it means we can all be involved in changing things for the better.

The Lent Groups will begin on February 24th, looking at the prayer Jesus taught us. Although short, the Lord’s Prayer is rich and teaches us much about how we should pray, including thanks, praise, prayers for forgiveness, and our own needs. The following week, March 3rd, we will explore praying with spiritual gifts. St Paul writes often about the gifts of the Spirit and gives instruction on how those gifts can enable and deepen our prayer life. On March 10th, the theme is praying with icons. This will be more familiar to those in the Orthodox tradition, but icons are used in other parts of the Christian church as well. This is a deep and fruitful way of visual prayer.

We will explore praying with the Iona Community on March 17th. The Isle of Iona has been a place of prayer and pilgrimage since the 6th century. The present Iona community is an ecumenical Christian group. They produce material for worship with a particular emphasis on faith, peace and social justice rooted in the Celtic Christian tradition.

Our final session on March 24th is entitled ‘Help! I’m too busy to pray!’ This will address issues about why we can find it hard to pray and offer some practical suggestions, hints and tips.

All sessions start with refreshments at 7.30pm concluding with a short act of worship, ending by 9pm. Although it is good to be able to attend the whole course, each evening is a stand alone contribution led by different people. So if you can’t come every week, don’t let that put you off. Sessions are free, but we do take a retiring collection which will be given to charity. Anyone is welcome to come along.

I do hope you will be able to join us to find out more about the variety of ways of praying, whether you are just curious, or whether you have had a lifelong habit of prayer and would like to explore further.

Every blessing,

Joy, Vicar of Eaton Bray with Edlesborough