Posted by Our worship idea for March is hardly new… Prayer Trees! Lots of people use prayer trees in their churches or in worship, and our prayer trees were one of the most popular items on our stall at the Christian Resources Exhibition.Wanting to have a physical expression of our prayers is nothing new. Lighting candles is probably…Read more »
Posted by Our February ‘worship idea’ is the story of Paul the Polar Prayer Bear, who began as a way to help us pray, but has become so much more… You will need: A cuddly toy A great name Your imagination… Introduction It all began when Naomi, one of our clergy heard about Bob the Intercessorsaurus, who…Read more »
Posted by This is the story of one of our very first members at St Clare’s. A story of how she found us, and left us; a story of angels and of God’s healing love. It shouldn’t be like this but sometimes it’s very difficult going to church. Especially if there are tough things happening in your…Read more »
Posted by During 2020, we will be trying each month to share an idea for worship that has worked well at St Clare’s. We have often adapted other good ideas we have stumbled on, and you will no doubt do the same with our thoughts. This first idea is ‘A service of sending on’ for when someone…Read more »
Posted by Listening to the Passion Narrative on Palm Sunday, I winced at the description of Jesus’ humiliation, torture and death. It is a painful story for anyone, Christian or not to enter into, but perhaps as a trauma survivor it is particularly triggering. I still find it difficult to watch atrocities on the news, or read…Read more »
Posted by For many reasons, not everyone can make it to church on Christmas Day. But we can all find a few minutes to remember God with us, to hear the Christmas story, to give thanks, and to pray for the world. This simple liturgy is designed to help us do this. It can be prayed alone…Read more »
Posted by This time last week I was in Berlin. I was privileged to be part of a group of clergy from the Diocese of Coventry visiting communities of the Cross of Nails in that great city. For four days we heard extraordinary stories of people working so hard to bring reconciliation to that great city. Stories of past,…Read more »
Posted by I love board games. I always have done. I still remember the glorious triumph of finally beating my Auntie Pat at Scrabble for the first time when I was seventeen (it’s possible I’m a bit competitive). I was in hospital at the time, but she wasn’t going to let a small thing like that stop…Read more »
Posted by How do you connect to God? It won’t be the same answer for everyone, so at St Clare’s we like to try lots of different ways of praying. One thing we’ve found is that most of us really value having something visual to focus on, and one idea that has really worked is ‘Gazing Prayers’. In…Read more »
Posted by My journey to St Clare’s by Ruth Nelson Thirteen years ago I was a member of my local parish church and even in a leadership role. However, I wanted a more relational type of church gathering and what did all that church thing mean anyway? Locally there was a group of people in their twenties who…Read more »