Hello everyone, 

The Gospel of Luke tells us that when the disciples encountered the resurrected Jesus, he spoke over them these words: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49). In the first chapter of Acts, Luke clarifies what this promised power would look like. He records the final words of Jesus before his ascension to the Father: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8). 

We too find ourselves gathered in the company of the disciples in this time of waiting and anticipation. We find ourselves between these two great feasts of hope and promise – between Easter and Pentecost. We too find ourselves praying -- with longing and expectation -- for ourselves, our loved ones, our church, our community, our broken and wounded world these two powerful prayers of Jesus: “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” and “Come, Holy Spirit!”

THY KINGDOM COME (9-19 May)

In the ten days that mark the journey from the Ascension (9 May) to Pentecost Sunday (19 May), hundreds of thousands of Christians from across the world unite in a global ecumenical movement of prayer called Thy Kingdom Come. In these ten days, we pray for those the Spirit places on our hearts – that friends, family, colleagues, neighbours would come to know Jesus for themselves. 

www.thykingdomcome.global

As we join in with Thy Kingdom Come, our church will be holding a big week of prayer here in Oakley and Wootton St Lawrence. 

If you have not already received one, this Sunday at church you will be able to collect a TKC prayer journal as a gentle guide through these ten days. The invitation is to commit to pray for five people the Lord places on your heart. 

www.thykingdomcome.global/resources/2024-prayer-journals

In addition to this, we have an exciting programme of opportunities to gather together to pray. 

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24/7 PRAYER (12-19 May)

Erika Conti is coordinating an ongoing collective 24/7 act of prayer, which will hum in the background of the week of prayer. The idea is that everyone is invited to sign up and commit to pray. 

https://signup.24-7prayer.com/signup/b4dd4a

You might like to sign up for an hour a day or perhaps just one hour in the week. It doesn’t matter. You are welcome to pray at home or in elsewhere, alone or in the company of others. The aim is for the whole church to rally together and commit together to pray every hour of every day for the week leading up to Pentecost. 

There will be a physical prayer room available upstairs at the St Leonard’s from 9am to 1pm every day that week for anyone who would like a place to pray. St Lawrence Church will also be open every day for private prayer. 

ELEMENTS SERIES: PRAYER (12 May)

We will be kicking off the week of prayer at the 10am service at St Leonard’s on Sunday 12 May. Jan Klein will be speaking, fittingly, on the theme of “prayer”. 

BEATING THE BOUNDS PRAYER WALK

(12 May)

Following the morning service at St Leonard’s, we will begin the week with a prayer walk of the boundaries of the parish – traditionally called “beating the bounds.” Everyone is welcome to join either for the Oakley/Pardown/Newfound loop … or the Wootton/Tangier/Malshanger loop … or both as we intercede and commit our whole parish community to God. We will set off from St Leonard’s around 12pm. More detailed information about the route and timings will be available soon. 

MORNING PRAYER (13-17 May)

Monday-Friday from 9:15-9:45am we will be holding a short service of morning prayer. There will be in-person gatherings at St Leonard’s and a virtual prayer room online. To access the virtual prayer room, simply log on to Zoom using the following code: 

ID: 86153281796
Passcode: 476555

Morning prayer actually happens every Monday-Friday. You don’t need to wait until ascension day … you can have a go right now! If you want to come and see what it is all about, you are welcome to join at any time. 

PRAYERS FOR OUR SCHOOLS

(13 May & 15 May)

On Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm, Richard Cripps – together with Sochi, school governors, and members of the Open the Book Team – will be leading a prayer walk for our schools. For those who would like to pray but might find a walk difficult, there will also be prayers for the school taking place at the same time at Jane Ludgate’s house. Please contact the office for further details.

Building on this, Sochi will also be leading special youth prayer events at the Youth Cafe, our midweek youth groups, and on Pentecost Sunday. 

PRAYER AT THE WELL (14 May)

From 7:30pm on Tuesday evening, Chris Greenhalgh, Sue Colman, and Ceri Deosun will be leading special night of worship, prayer ministry, and creativity at the Well. This service will take place at St Leonard’s Church. Everyone is welcome. 

MIDWEEK COMMUNION (15 May)

At 11am on Wednesday morning, Ben will be leading a short service of Holy Communion at St Leonard’s followed by refreshments at the Centre. If you are longing for a quiet, reflective space do come and join us. 

PRAYERS AT OAK LODGE CARE HOME

(15 May)

On Wednesday afternoon, Anna Knight and the pastoral care team from St Leonard’s will be holding a special Pentecost service at the Oak Lodge care home. Please do hold the residents in your prayers on this day as we invite the Spirit to come and do a new work, for we are reminded by St Peter that Pentecost was transformative for literally EVERYONE: 

In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on ALL people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your YOUNG men will see visions,
your OLD men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both MEN and WOMEN,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18 citing Joel 2:28-32)

MINI PILGRIMAGES:

BETWEEN WOOTTON & OAKLEY (16 May)

On Thursday, there will be the opportunity to join in with a “mini pilgrimage” from St Lawrence to St Leonard’s (in the morning) and from St Leonard’s to St Lawrence (in the afternoon).

Group 1: WSL to Oakley

9:45am Gather at St Lawrence Church for a word of introduction and a short act of prayer. 
10:00am depart from St Lawrence along a pre-planned pilgrimage route to St Leonard's. 
11:30am-12pm arrive at St Leonard's for a short time of prayer over Oakley.
12:30pm share a simple soup lunch in the Oakley Room at the St Leonard’s Centre. 

Group 2: Oakley to WSL

1:45pm gather at St Leonard's Church for a word of introduction and a short act of prayer. 
2:00pm depart from St Leonard's along a pre-planned pilgrimage route to St Lawrence. 
3:30pm-4:00pm arrive at St Lawrence for a short time of prayer over Wootton.
4:30pm share refreshments together across the road from Church at the Bake House.

The soup lunch will be an opportunity for members of group 1 and 2 to come together if they wish. 

You are welcome to do both legs of the pilgrimage or just one (and arrange your own transport back home).

To help with catering and health & safety preparations, please sign up to the mini pilgrimage in advance by contacted the church office. If you could do so by Monday 13 May that would be much appreciated. 

THE BIG PILGRIMAGE (18 May)

On Saturday, Tim Saunders will be leading a longer pilgrimage walk from Winchester Cathedral to St Leonard’s Church. Tim writes: 

The plan for this is a self-paced and self-organised pilgrimage which allows individuals to create their own groups to allow for walking at a similar pace. I'd love to provide approx. timings and a map as well as a list of some essential equipment required to ensure everybody remains safe but I don't want to micro manage the pilgrimage.

The rough plan (feel free to use your own timings) is to leave Winchester Cathedral at approx. 8am on Saturday 18th May and arrive at St Leonard's at approx. 6pm (2 other distance options will also be provided, approx. 13 miles and approx. 5 miles). This should allow plenty of time for most people to make it back. I'd love for us to share in a short service on arrival at St Leonard's. The benefit of reversing the pilgrimage (those who joined us last year will remember we started at St Leonard's at 4am) is that we can start later in the morning and finish closer to home.

I won't be organising stops at Churches along the route or passports for stamping etc as we did last time, the idea is this is a very simple to organise pilgrimage with a very simple focus ... prayer.

If you're interested in joining this pilgrimage please contact me (Tim Saunders - saundersboy@gmail.com) and I'll send you the details you need. Ideally please work on group sizes of approx. 4-8. 

With blessings, 
Tim

PENTECOST SUNDAY (19 May)

Finally, we will bring our big week of prayer to a close with joyful celebration Pentecost services at Wootton St Lawrence and St Leonard’s where Sue will be speaking on signs, wonders, and the powerful gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

Following on from our week of prayer we will be looking forward to welcoming Bishop David to lead a service of baptism and confirmation on Sunday 23 June. If anyone sense a prompting to take this step deeper in your journey of faith, what better time than this? 

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Our hope is that this time will be an opportunity for literally everyone in our church community to join together in prayer. Ours has always been a deeply prayerful church. As a leadership team, we have been sensing God’s call on our church to press into these holy habits of praying together as God’s people for one another and for the needs of the world. 

Let us pray with bold expectancy these powerful prayers of Jesus: 

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

“Come, Holy Spirit.” 

And as we pray, may God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ set our hearts on fire by His Spirit, and may His grace overwhelm us and set us free. 

Peace,
Ben