Praying for the Games -  A time to shine

Olympic fever is going to light up the UK long before July's auspicious opening ceremony, and now is your invitation to light the way. More Than Gold are launching A Time to Shine - a call to prayer for the Games and the nations, drawing the theme from Isaiah 60:1-5. And the first phase is to pray in the New Year.

A prayerful start to the year
We are asking every church, including yours, to do something to start the next year with prayer. We are suggesting the focus should be during the week of Saturday 31st December to Sunday 8th January. With the theme 'Shine for Jesus', based on Isaiah 60:1-5. We hope churches will simply do what works best for them.

The Prayer Relay
In May, the flame of the Olympic torch will arrive in the UK, to be carried throughout our towns and cities by local heroes and heroines.
The torch relay will pass within at least an hour of most households in the UK. This is where you can get involved (if you are not fortunate enough to carry the flame yourself!) It will be accompanied by a More Than Gold prayer relay. Every district will be visited by both the Torch and the prayer relay.

The challenge is for us to take the baton of prayer, and to offer prayer for the Games and for the mission opportunities that are happening throughout the nation. Prayer and mission go together, and it is only through you taking the baton of prayer that is passed to you, that the Games will exceed its spiritual and cultural potential.

Is your District ready?
So, how can you get involved and be part of the prayer relay? For 70 days from May 19th, every District will be hosting their own prayer relay, to which prayer resources will be provided. Many of us will have experienced the power of prayer as we ‘prayed without ceasing' a few years ago. What a great opportunity to remind ourselves that our call to mission is one that does not cease - and that we are called to pray for the Spirit of God to be at work in our locality, nation and world.

A symbol of prayer
Each District is also invited to create a symbol of prayer, to be carried across the District. The London District are holding a competition for the design of the prayer symbol. Other Districts are asking their uniformed organisations to take the baton and produce a symbol to encourage and galvanise the District to prayer.

Still others are specifically commissioning their local artists. This is a great opportunity to be creative, and to enable people in your locality to get involved and to be inspired to pray for the nation. The only stipulation is that it needs to be light enough to be passed around the District throughout the 70 days (that life sized paper mache model of Usain Bolt is a great idea, but possibly not the most conducive to a relay. You'll need to wait for the live race for that!)
 
Ideally, the symbol will say something important about your District, as well as helping people to engage with prayer and with the Games. After the Games, these will all be collected together and curated into an exhibition, to which you will all be invited! the challenge - to pray, to prepare, and to pass the baton as the Torch Relay lights its way through the streets and cul de sacs of our villages and towns.


Source:  The Methodist Church