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Open to community in prayer and action Being open to the community is a priority for St Nicolas Church. With this in mind we will have our second annual Parish Prayer Walk on Sunday 5th September 2010. The Prayer Walk takes in the whole Parish and there are eight stops on the way where specific prayers will be said. The stopping points are chosen to reflect the every day lives of people in our Parish. For example, at Earley Railway Station all commuters, railway and transport workers will be prayed for. At the local school we will pray for teachers, school staff, parents, carers and pupils. At the local shops for all people working in shops, restaurants and pubs. Posters at the prayer stops will let the wider community know what is going on and invite them to join in or call the St Nicolas’ 24/7 Prayer Request Line on 07546 580 616 or send a prayer request by email to prayer@stnicolas.org.uk Prayer Walk organiser, Karen Koefman, explains why the walk is so important, “St Nicolas’ Church is full of people who pray for everyone in Earley as part of their individual and corporate prayers. We felt that it was important that people were aware of this and the walk is a great way to provide a visible and positive presence of St Nicolas in the community we serve.” Last year the Prayer Walk did just that with positive responses from local people and the local press. St Nicolas also has a confidential Prayer Chain. Prayer requests are received in confidence and with permission are passed to our Prayer Chain. This is a group of fourteen people who pass the prayer request to one another so that within a few minutes they can all be praying for a person or a situation. Just last night an urgent request for prayer came in and I passed it to the next person in the chain and this morning reassured the people involved that many people had been praying for them in their time of need. We also complement our prayer for our community with action. We are at work in local schools and homes for the elderly. We have an active Pastoral Care Team who visit people in their homes. We have Linkline – a wonderful service that puts in a regular call to people who may be housebound or in need of a friendly chat. We are connected and active in Churches Together in Earley and East Reading and at this months meeting have a speaker coming from Earley Town Council. There is a further positive impact – each of us as individuals in our work, at our schools and on our streets - living lives of faith. It’s a wonderful thing when you consider it in the round. If you feel called to get directly involved in any of the things mentioned, act now. A prayer for the Prayer Walk Living Lord, we thank you for this special opportunity Neil Warwick
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