I feel very blessed to have grown up in a home where prayer was prioritised as a family; I have memories of praying the rosary with my granny, listening to the Holy Spirit with my mum, being in environments of praise and sung worship and of course, sat around a table of family members praying with grateful hearts before eating. Sometimes it was silent, sometimes noisy, sometimes it took place when we were happy and at other times it was our lifeline in trial, but speaking to God together was something that I could see the power of from an early age.
Growing up through my teens and twenties this passion of praying in unity hasn’t left me but I’ve certainly realised how much bigger my family is now! The church is the beautiful, bold and brave body of Jesus and I’m becoming more and more convinced that what sends blood rushing to each part of our frame so that we can move together is prayer.
Thy Kingdom Come is such an extraordinary expression of this. This is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus. Since launch, this has involved more than 1 million Christians across 85 different denominations and traditions in 90% of countries worldwide. Just think about that – 90% of the globe have Christians mobilised to pray together at the same time for the same thing. That is stunning!
We know churches in America, Australia, Canada, Sudan, Burundi, Hong Kong, Japan, Trinidad, Finland, Germany, Holland, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and beyond are taking part.
This has been supported by Church leadership far and wide including encouragement from all of the presidents of Churches Together in England. His Holiness Pope Francis continues to support the prayer movement and has done for the last few years. Leaders from the Church of Scotland, the Church in Wales and Irish churches are behind TKC- alongside the Methodist Church, the Church of England and many others. It really is a family affair!
Something that strikes me with my work for the Church across the nation is how much we need to continue to teach our young people how to pray and to encourage them that praying big prayers honours our big God. I love how TKC has been so intentional with the unveiling of new resources this year that cater for all ages:
- For children, we want to nurture their faith with rich life-giving content. Cheeky Pandas animation series (11 episodes and accompanying resources) does this. There are accompanying activity packs, service plans and catholic versions (family catechists.)
- For youth there are 11 video reflections to inspire young people in their faith with accompanying discussion plans suitable for use at form time in college, youth groups and at home. I was delighted to be asked to contribute one of these! (Watch Pippa’s TKC video)
- For adults, there are the main 11 videos from a cross section of the church including Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Archbishop Angaelos, the new song ‘We Seek Your Kingdom’ and heroes of faith Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom’s story and CS Lewis.
If ever we needed to step up our work together and to learn to pray together again, it is now. This pandemic has shown us how hungry the world is for something more and the Church has the answer to this – Jesus! I have always loved how simple The Kingdom Come is and how bold it is. We’re taking Jesus at His word that we all have the same Father, and we’re calling on Him to renew the world by His power. All the family together.
Full time lay missionary, Pippa Baker, worked in the Advertising industry for 6 and a half years in Central London. In 2017, she felt the call to quit her job to pursue a life working with the Church all over Europe. Her passion lies in helping the emerging generation follow Jesus daily and worshipping Him with their lives. She helps lead One Hope Project, a creative collective encouraging fresh expressions of worship in the Catholic Church.