Thy Kingdom Come: Light Up the World in Prayer

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

During Thy Kingdom Come (TKC), our mission is to introduce people to the love of God in Christ, and to see his Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. I am writing to you so that you may feel encouraged in your churches to pray together during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost.

Last year parishes engaged with Thy Kingdom Come in a number of ways, and I hope this will be the case again this year. As we join in prayer for the evangelistic witness of the Church, I am pleased to commend a range of resources for all ages, for worship at home or together in church (see below). Whichever way you wish to get involved in your parish – I hope these resources will support you and strengthen us all in our mission.

I would particularly like to encourage engaging children and young people to join in, as thousands of young people come together to pray The Lord’s Prayer – in one mighty voice – on the day of Pentecost. There are many ways to help you pray during this season and you will find a list of the contents of the pack on the reverse of this letter, along with details of other resources, some of which are available centrally from the official Thy Kingdom Come website.

The Diocese’s own dedicated Thy Kingdom Come web page also has links to the materials and other useful resources. This year we have moved to a wholly digital offering of resources in order to fulfil our pledge as an eco-diocese.

The Bishops and Archdeacons of our diocese will be seeking to make time during these nine days to engage with parishes and deaneries, taking opportunities for both private and corporate prayer. The nine days of prayer culminate on Pentecost Sunday across the Diocese on Sunday 19 May.

May this time between Ascension and Pentecost be  an opportunity to nurture our faith and that of others to come to know Christ,

The Bishop of Southwark, The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun

Resources to help us light up the world in prayer

In line with our pledge as an eco-diocese, these resources are available online:

• Novena
• Prayer journal
• Children and Youth 2024 Postcards
• Bright Prayer Ideas for your Church booklet
• Workplace Prayer Diary
• Prayer Station Artwork
• A form to apply for £100 grant from the Mission Department.

To download digital copies of any of the above (and more), go to www.southwark.anglican.org/tkc

Grants

The Mission Department is awarding £100 grants towards creating a prayer station or prayer space. Email mission@southwark.anglican.org or apply using the order form available online.

Ordering additional resources

You can request further free copies of the booklets, and pocket-sized prayers for workers from TKC 2024 for continued use in your parish. Copies of the following are available to collect from the reception at Trinity House:

• Hidden church
• Everyday faith
• Prayers for workplace
• Novena 2024

Resources for children, young people and families

We have a number of resources available to engage children and young people, which you can find out about here.

You may also wish to borrow resources from our Resource Library. You can find other TKC resources for children and young people online here.  

Prayer space kits are available to borrow by contacting Imani McEwen (Imani.McEwen@southwark.anglican.org) at Trinity House. These contain a range of items for decorating prayer spaces and ideas for engaging in prayerful activities.  

Continuous and 24-hour prayer

You can run your own ‘Upper Room’ prayer room, just as the disciples did. Run it for the full 11 days of Thy Kingdom Come in your church community, or try hosting 24 hours of prayer non-stop with your friends or small group. Find further resources to aid and inspire prayer here.

Feedback

We would love to receive feedback on this pack and which resources have been most or least helpful. This will help to inform what we produce for Thy Kingdom Come next year. Please email us at mission@southwark.anglican.org with any comments. We would also love to see photos and hear stories of how you are praying for and serving your communities. Do send these through to the mission team email as well.

Pentecost Sunday at the Cathedral and across our diocese

On Pentecost Sunday,  thousands of young people have been invited to come together from all over the world, to unite in a single purpose: to pray The Prayer that Jesus has taught us – The Lord’s Prayer in one mighty voice. Young people in your communities are invited to gather, worship, watch and pray together from 5pm-6pm. Join online with the rest of the nation from 5.15-5.35pmfor a 20-minute session, which includes contributions from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York, Rachel Gardener, and the team from The Way. More information can be found here.