Moderator invites us to Thy Kingdom Come prayer movement

The Moderator of the General Assembly is inviting everyone to join him in taking part in this year's Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative.

Thy Kingdom Come is a global ecumenical prayer movement which will run from Ascension Day on the 13th of May until Pentecost Sunday on the 23rd of May.

Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair sent a letter inviting congregations to embrace the event earlier this week.

Launched in 2016, Thy Kingdom Come seeks to Light up the World in Prayer as we place prayer at the centre of our daily lives.

This year we are all encouraged to pray for five people that they might come to know the love and blessings of God.

Christians in more than 170 countries including Scotland took part last year.

Dr Fair wrote: "Having engaged in Thy Kingdom Come since its inception, I would personally be thrilled to see individuals and congregations from across the Church of Scotland getting thoroughly involved this time around.

"It's about praying for our churches, our communities and our countries.

"It calls on us to pray for those who as yet know little or nothing of Christ, so is decidedly evangelistic in tone as well as ecumenical."

Congregations are encouraged to use and adapt the materials available free of charge on the Thy Kingdom Come website.

These include a Prayer Journal written by the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, a family adventure map and fun videos for children as well as inspiring videos for young adults.

You don't need any of this to take part, however, and all that is needed is a personal commitment to pray.

You can read Dr Fair's full invitation below and watch the launch video which includes a preview of the resources available for families, youth workers, individual church members and congregations.

Dear friends,

So much of how we went about ‘doing Church' has been denied us throughout the course of the pandemic and who knows if perhaps some of our tried and tested practices may be lost to us forever.

The upside is that we've been forced back into that which cannot be restricted, curtailed or locked down; the timeless disciplines of our faith, which remain available to us throughout every circumstance, the life of prayer and the contemplation of Scripture.

Tuesday 9th March saw the launch of Thy Kingdom Come 2021 and I believe that Thy Kingdom Come works because it is established on the twin pillars of prayer and Scripture.

Now approaching its sixth season, it has become a genuinely significant part of the global and ecumenical calendar with Christians from across the wonderful diversity of the Church Universal coming together to pray.

Running from Ascension Day to Pentecost Sunday, 13th-23rd May, it will unite people from over 170 countries and given what we have all been through, that coming together will never been more important.

Having engaged in Thy Kingdom Come since its inception, I would personally be thrilled to see individuals and congregations from across the Church of Scotland getting thoroughly involved this time around.

It's about praying for our churches, our communities and our countries.

It calls on us to pray for those who as yet know little or nothing of Christ and so is decidedly evangelistic in tone as well as ecumenical.

Sometime in the summer last year, when it appeared that the virus was on the retreat, people began to use the phrase ‘build back better.'

Little did we know then that the second wave would be equally as devastating as the first.

However, by May 2021 the roll-out of the various vaccines should be well under way such that many of us, and certainly the most vulnerable among us, will be feeling much safer.

Building back better might well be what we're thinking about in May, and with the culmination of Thy Kingdom Come 2021 on Pentecost Sunday coinciding with our own General Assembly, I can think of nothing better than that we give ourselves to adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.

I warmly commend Thy Kingdom Come 2021 to the whole Church and encourage you to put it in your diaries now and begin to explore the superb range of resources that will be available to you.

‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…' (2 Chronicles 7: 14)

Visit the Thy Kingdom Come website

View the latest Thy Kingdom Come materials

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