Ash Wednesday Prayer Summit

Theme: Holy Spirit Renew & Transform Your Church (Convocation theme)

 

Living out our personal responsibility to Christ for

Self, Family, Church, Community, Nation, World,

through prayer, reflection, study, recommitment

 

The usual Ash Wednesday Prayer Summit of the Cayman Area Council took a new twist this year (March 1st 2006), with the incorporation of a Bible Study and a Challenge to the Church membership, both led by the Moderator, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Roderick Hewitt, who was in Cayman for the day. These were in addition to the usual opportunities for individual, small group and corporate prayer, singing and praise, and Holy Communion. In his usual way of coupling critical insight with irrepressible humour, the Moderator helped the congregation to discover, or be reminded of, some of the traits, preconceptions and misconceptions of Jonah and Peter that we would prefer not to remember are still alive in the Church (and wider community) today. (See Bible Study texts and reflection questions, which he provided, below – please feel free to use them on your own!) In his Challenge, he helped us to soberly remind ourselves of the need for transformation, renewal and growth by and in the Holy Spirit and the need to ‘listen’ to Jesus, God’s Beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. To ‘listen’ - and be transfigured to act in new ways so that Christ’s Church will grow, to His glory and for the good of ourselves, our families, our Church, our community, our nation and our world – because at all these levels, the transforming power of Christ is sorely needed.

 

These reflections helped us to maintain the impetus resulting from the workshop led by Rev. Oliver Daley, with assistance of Mrs. Grace Clarke of the Synod Office, the previous Friday and Saturday. Rev. Daley had left us with a number of worthwhile reminders, including a central theme of his message for the total package of strategies and actions which our beliefs should lead us to embrace, namely that church growth is not an event, it’s a movement – with difficulties and dangers that must be managed. He had also emphasised, by looking at this from several angles, that if the (United) Church is to renew itself, it (that is, each of us) has to come to a place of dissatisfaction (with the status quo). Various statistics were looked at, some going back 30 years, all of which would suggest that we should be very dissatisfied with the situation revealed! Rev. Daley emphasised the simple, inescapable point that “truth is things as they are!” Initiatives of the UCJCI over the years were also looked at, including most recently the Long Term Development Plan for Congregational Renewal and Growth, which also emphasised the need for an ongoing movement which comprehensively addressed all aspects of Christ-led ministry, mission and fellowship of the Church. Theoretically, the LTDP is still the main tool of the Church, but structured planning (with steadfast implementation) has not been embraced in the Cayman congregations in recent years. On the Saturday morning, Rev. Daley did, however, lead us through various structures and leadership models which he has proven to be successful in developing and implementing his own church plans, and it is to be hoped that he has rekindled some interest in this.

 

Bible Study: Jonah 4:1-11 and Acts 10:9-35 – Led by Rt. Rev. Dr. Roderick Hewitt, Moderator

 

Small group discussions and Prayers - Special Questions for Reflection:

  1. It took some dramatic events to change Jonah’s and Peter's preconceptions about other people and their part in God's plan of salvation.
  1. Jonah and Peter had some deep-seated problems with certain people, which they expressed in relation to their faith in God. They were certain of the rightness of their positions.

 

Challenge by Moderator: Mark 9:1-12