Thy Kingdom Come 2022 started in style in Nottingham with the gathering of 1000 people from 100 different churches worshiping together and praying for the city.
The event was hosted at Trent Vineyard but organised by Nottingham City Prayer (NCP), an ecumenical movement of Christians across the city who regularly join in prayer to see Christ’s church united, God’s power released and the city blessed.
The theme this year was about looking outwards, to what the attendees could ‘give away’ and take out into their communities.
NCP has coordinated a large city-wide prayer and worship gathering as part of Thy Kingdom Come since 2017.
“I always find it so amazing – the unity, the joy that fills the whole place when we praise God together. A foretaste of heaven for me,” said Mother Damian from the Poor Clares (Roman Catholic).
“Every time we hold this event there seems to a prophetic moment, which captures the essence of the gathering,” said one of the organisers Mark Hopkins, from the King’s Church, Arnold, which is a member of the Ground Level Network. “This year it was when we had six people on stage leading prayers – each in their own native language. They were praying in Farsi, Spanish, Cantonese, Chichewa and Hausa and English.”
Rev Lynda Blakeley St Stephen’s, Sneinton (Church of England) agreed “Hearing people pray in their own language was deeply moving and a stark reminder that this is God’s Church, not ours and that His church is global and so much bigger than our little patch.”
“When we join together as Christians from different denominations, cultures and backgrounds, we discover, and also reflect, a more holistic image of God. When we prayed in different languages with one accord at the Thy Kingdom Come prayer meeting, it felt like Pentecost is the Tower of Babel redeemed!” said Rev Yanyan Case (Methodist Minister).
To keep the prayer momentum going, NCP now gather at 7 am every second Thursday of the month in different church locations across the city, with each one bringing their own unique welcome and worship. They also hold regular meetings for the city’s Christian leaders.
Learn more about Nottingham City Prayer.
Fill in the Thy Kingdom Come survey 2022 to feedback your experiences of the event.