Over 70 people from churches across Horsforth joined together for this special one-off event to celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and share and pray together for the work of the Holy Spirit among us today.
There was a great atmosphere of unity, faith and prayerfulness for our town as we enjoyed a varied programme including: worship, encouraging stories from churches, information and prayer in small groups, gathered prayer around a map, and testimonies. The feedback from those who were able to attend has been fantastic, with many saying it was an uplifting evening for them.
The Holy Spirit’s work in each of our churches
We started off with short presentations from each church telling us one thing they feel the Holy Spirit is doing in their church, together with a ‘visual aid’. It was heart-warming to hear the breadth of aspects being celebrated, from vibrant children’s work to healing services to the food pantry, and much more.
We were then ably led by Jo Stow and Paul Scholey in great Pentecost worship songs (with John Fairburn on sound).
Duncan’s story of the Holy Spirit inspiring him to set up the project
Next we heard the inspiring story of how Duncan Stow heard the clear call of God to start the work of the Horsforth Chaplaincy Project alongside Horsforth Churches Together about 13 years ago, to enhance and support the work of HCT with paid time, which has been made possible by individuals giving monthly donations (or one-off amounts) plus contributions from some churches. Duncan is the Project Leader for Horsforth Chaplaincy Project. He explained how all the churches, Churches Together and Horsforth Chaplaincy Project work together – a little bit like the Trinity (!):
Nigel Sinclair who was unable to come to the meeting recorded a video about his experience of Horsforth Churches Together and the project’s work – do click on the image below to hear how much he has valued the work (5 mins 42 secs):
Visiting 7 Prayer Stations
Following this people could choose from 7 prayer stations on different aspects of the work currently going on across Horsforth, with someone at each station to give a quick overview and guide the prayers with prayer points. The Prayer Station Titles were:
- Community Events and Farmers’ Market
- Primary Schools
- High School
- Refugees and people seeking Asylum
- Being Salt and Light in our Community
- Older People
- Horsforth Community Pantry
You can download a Prayer Points sheet with the points from all of the 7 stations below if you would like to continue to use these pointers to pray for the work.
Prayer for our Town around a map
Then we gathered around a map of Horsforth to stand together as one body encircling our town and lifting it up to God in prayer, led by Rhoda Wu (Communications and Support Worker). People were invited to choose objects representing what was on their hearts for Horsforth and place them on the map with a prayer, as we all said together the invitation “Come, Holy Spirit, Come” after each prayer.
We then heard a testimony from Laura Schubert (Refugee Support Worker) about how she has felt so welcome in Horsforth, in HCT, and in the HCP team, and how those seeking sanctuary that she works with have received a fantastic welcome and been included in many aspects of the community of Horsforth.
How to Support the work
Duncan then highlighted the aspirations and current needs of Horsforth Chaplaincy Project, including prayer support, volunteers and the need for funds to extend Laura’s contract after the end of grant funding in September, plus a desire to expand youth work if possible, as well as the ongoing needs of the project.
Regular giving is so helpful – for example, 15 people giving £25 a month funds a worker for 1 day a week, but one-off gifts are just as important to the running of the team.
The Horsforth Chaplaincy Team –
Rhoda, Duncan and Laura
Find out more about the project ON THIS LINK: HORSFORTH CHAPLAINCY PROJECT
If you would like to support the work or get involved you can:
- Ask about volunteering – contact Duncan on duncan@horsforthchaplaincy.org
- Sign up for regular mailings once a month – email Rhoda on rhoda@horsforthchaplaincy.org
- Donate to the project – find out the different methods you can use by clicking on the button below, thank you:
We finished the evening with one last song and a blessing.
Thank you to all who attended and to all who helped to make this such a great evening together!