Week of Accompanied Prayer
hosted by
All Saints Church, Maidstone
June 25th to July 1st
You are warmly invited to take part. This is for YOU whoever you are, and wherever you are on your spiritual journey. No previous experience necessary! If you have taken part in a Week of Accompanied Prayer before, come again - it will be different each time...........we are on a journey for life!
WHAT IS A WEEK OF ACCOMPANIED PRAYER?
It is a way of making a retreat in the midst of daily living. The structure is very simple - and it works! The format is based on the retreatant making a daily half hour prayer period on Scripture, at home, and a daily meeting with their prayer guide (one-to-one) in the church for half an hour. There is an ecumenical team of trained prayer-companions, (lay, clergy, religious) and the retreatants who have signed up for this experience. They range widely in their expectation and desire, but all are there because they want to deepen their prayer life or to learn more about praying with Scripture.
Everything is in place to help this: the church is set up with prayer places; the prayer guides have a list of their retreatants, and an agreed time of meeting each day; a tea room is organised (where retreatants may meet together before and after sessions);
What happens?
Opening Session: Sunday evening.
The goal within this session is to meet one another, introduce the prayer guides, and create the atmosphere of a community of prayer. Guided examples of praying with scripture will be given. Prayer guides will meet their retreatants, show them their church prayer place, check interview times, and agree a Scripture passage for the following day. By the end of the session retreatants will have a pretty good idea of how to go about their own prayer time.
Weekday Sessions: Monday to Friday
Each retreatant comes to the church for 30 minutes at a time and place previously arranged. Prayer guides will listen without interrupting and gently help and affirm retreatants in listening to the living God. Suggestions will be made for how prayer time can be spent the following day. Everything will be related to the retreatant's life. Prayer guides will not counsel, advise or instruct.
Closing Session: Saturday Morning celebrates our experience of the Week, looks towards the future.
Application forms and more information will soon be available at the back of the church. See Notice-board too.
*To find out more do ask me in church; or phone me on 01580 712330 * or e-mail roger@doe9.freeserve.co.uk
HELP PLEASE!
The Prayer guides (8-10?) will be in the parish for the week. If you could cook or help with the meal for ONE of the week days, or offer hospitality, I should be most grateful. Please speak to me Sunday or phone me as above.
Priscilla Doe
