24-7 UK Network Day, Gateshead

Megan loved our day in Gateshead because she got to hang out with Hudson (Greig)... as usual, they talked for hours! I loved the day for lots of other reasons...

I loved it when Phil Anderson strolled into the upstairs room at St Joseph's RC Church, where we were meeting for the day. He was the last to arrive, having landed his small plane at Newcastle airport. "Sorry I'm late," he said, "bit of a head-wind." The best late-excuse ever.

I loved it when our programme for the day got ruined within the first hour as we dived into praying for Europe and our nation... having heard a few stories about the Big Church Day Out, the Global Day of Prayer, the Pentecost Festival and the Week of Prayer across Parliament and Government. Carla's prayercast launched us into the deep end... Pete Greig had us speaking and praying for revival (whatever that is?)... and we drew that hour to a close by praying the Lord's Prayer together. Let your Kingdom come in Europe, Father.

I loved Rich and Katy Smith's report on the Colchester Boiler Room community... as always, so full of life! ...a prayer room in a huge shop front ...a sailing trip with guys from Out For Good ...pics of students in Turkey visiting their 24-7prayer room ...Mike's 'good news' (tee hee!) ...and Katy's growing baby-bump! 18 months ago, they couldn't have children. Now there's visible proof that our Father in Heaven sometimes ignores the experts and does the impossible.

I loved our long lunchtime. We do this every time we meet... a whole third of every 24-7 prayer UK Network Day is set aside for eating and talking together. Why? Because we're family, and that's how families celebrate best... by eating and talking. :o) Tom Jamieson had booked us into a local Working Men's Club, the Park Lane. Perfect. :o)

I loved the Northern stories... Debbie Meehan and the Ayr-crowd (including Fraser, who made some new friends, much to his delight! Ha ha) talked about their extraordinary prayer room in Debbie's house, where someone was actually healed from cancer!

...and then Domini Heald, Ben and Abi talked about students becoming Christians and their plans for a permanent prayer room at Durham University. It was like listening to them have a conversation amongst themselves, as faith and excitement and extra bits of information flickered back and forth between them. Wonderful!

...and finally, Tom Jamieson talked a bit about his community in Ryton, and the 24-7 stuff that's been continually rippling up and down the Tyne valley. I loved praying for them. It felt significant as we gathered around them... friends from Aberystwyth and London, Reading and Gloucester, Oxford and Guildford... gathering to encourage and bless and support our Northern and Scottish friends. We prayed for God's fire to fall and catch and spread all across the North.

And then we pulled Catie Raikes and Mandy Williams into the middle and prayed for them, to mark the end of their Wild Goose intern year with 24-7 prayer... they've both been amazing. It was sad not to be praying for Emma Nicholson as well - unfortunately, she couldn't make it. She's been amazing too. (If you're interested in Wild Goose, or any of 24-7's other learning options, go click here.)

I loved listening to Tim Abbot tell a few stories from the Sanctum project, which hosts prayer rooms in schools all over Colchester. We prayed for a Holy Spirit 'tsunami' to sweep across the UK's schools, primary and secondary, spilling out from prayer rooms. You'll know from my other blog-posts about the resources we're working on right now. Let me know if you want them?

And I loved Ian Nicholson's stories from Skopje in Macedonia - he's just returned from a week with the new Boiler Room community there. He kindly offered to play some Macedonian folk music as we took up an offering... I can honestly say that it helped us to 'give cheerfully'! Ha ha. Thanks so much to all of you who gave cash... we were able to give £158 to each of our three ex-Wild Goose interns, to thank them, and send them on well. Amazing!

I also loved breaking the news... 24-7's tenth birthday party, helpfully nicknamed 'IAM10', will be in London on 13th February next year, 2010. Put it in your diaries. You *absolutely* won't want to miss this! ;o)

In summary, I loved it. And it seems that most of you who were there did too.

Pam and Arnold Cooke were with us for the first time on Saturday. Here's a little bit of what Pam emailed me earlier today;
"We loved the normalness, humility, servant heartedness, flexibility, God-centredness, hospitality, non-performance & relational ethos of everything. I've probably made up some new words there but it's hard to describe. Our daughter asked us yesterday what was the best bit & we couldn't say just one. It was all 'best'!!"

Comments

[Carla]

Er... did you show my prayercast... oo I feel a bit weird.. xc

[Linda]

Wow - I am 10 - incredible! I love hearing all this news from so far away Phil....

[Catie Eliza Raikes]

It really was WONDERFUL!!!!!! I Loved listening to the students from Durham University, they has so much encouragement and excitement and passion all bubbling over! Woop Woop!!