Prayer...

Does anyone have anything we can pray for specifically?

On March 5, Spring Garden had a 24-hour prayer vigil, specifically seeking God's vision for the church and for the building project. Let's pray as to where we all, and Vocation as a group, fit into this picture!

Pray for those in school as the end of the semester approaches and things get a little crazy.
Pray for the missions trip we are trying to set up to go to Kenya in August - that people would respond to the call to serve overseas short-term as needed.
I am admittedly out of touch with what is happening in the world. Praise the Lord that the hostages in Iraq have been freed - these are Christian peacemakers who were forcibly freed, which is ironic and perhaps they will struggle with this in the days ahead.

Anything else? Comment or let me know by email (Scottgmoore@mac.com)

Some Things to Pray For:

• The upcoming election (aside - VOTE!!)
• Vocation as a group would continue to build relationships with one another and be witnesses to God's kingdom
• TILT - for those of you that don't know, this is a new evening gathering we are doing at Spring Garden Church. It is a place for people to engage with God within a community context (as is all church I hope!). Pray for the leadership - that God's vision would be clear and that this would be about glorifying God, not us.
• Everyone in school! It's crazy. It's busy. It's stressful. Sometimes it's hard to 'see God' in the grind of school, so pray for perspective and a sense of calling even as we study sometimes mundane things.

Our Government

1 Peter 2 says: 13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

In light of what is happening in our government and with the release of the Gomery report today, it is sometimes hard to think that we should submit to our government. Pray that truth, transparency and humility would be restored to our leaders in government. Particularly, pray for people such as John McKay from Spring Garden, who are Christians in the government, trying to honour Christ and bring light to an often dark situation.

Go here for details about the report: Globe and Mail

The World

Recently, we have been confronted with so much natural disaster. Millions of people are displaced, without homes, have lost family and friends. Pray for comfort for those at a loss. May God's grace be shown through these tragic situations. Let's not forgot other ongoing suffering - AIDS in Africa, conflict in Sudan - these seem to fade into the limelight so often that we forget the reality of this situation for so many people.

TILT

TILT is about to go weekly! I think this is an exciting opportunity to engage with God in a new and different way. Pray that people would experience God through this service, that it would be a place of authenticity, acceptance. I think that we as a group can really be involved in TILT if we sense that is where God is leading us.

Spring Garden Church: The Next Step

This past Thursday (September 22), the members at Spring Garden gave the go-ahead to launch into a $3-million capital campaign. The vision for this campaign is to make some renovations and expansions to the churhc that will allow us to better minister within the church and out into the community. Some proposed additions include a gymnasium, extra meeting rooms, a larger fellowship room and larger youth room as well. Exciting stuff! The church wants to hear from EVERYONE, so feel free to provide your input. But, as this is the prayer blog, I think this is something we can all be praying about! One image that came out of the discussion was of the Israelites standing before the Red Sea, expectantly waiting for God to deliver them. In a sense, Spring Garden is in a similar stage. Pray about exactly what shape the campaign will take, as well as getting a good start to fundraising, that people would give generously as they feel led.

GOD @ The Black Sheep

Gene at Spring Garden is trying to get an Alpha course going at the Black Sheep Pub. I think it's a great opportunity for people to come in a non-threatening environment and be really open about their thoughts regarding faith, God, etc. Pray that the right people would hear about this opportunity and that God would move in the hearts of those who are interested and come to the pub.

Monica @ work

Monica is entering the important phase of launching AIA for the year at York and U of T. Pray for unity and cohesiveness of staff as Mon is working with some new staff this year. Pray that AIA would be able to make an impact in people's lives at these campuses.