We are encouraged to ensure that the proceedings in our Christian gatherings should be, in St Paul's words,  "...done in a fitting and orderly way..." (1Corinthians 14:40)  This does not mean that we should be formal and silent at all times, but it does mean that, where the Holy Spirit has loving control, we should be actively considerate of one another.  Lovingkindness in action, if you will.

We have some ground-rules that we endeavour to follow, and we ask you to respect them when you join us in our gatherings. These are usually put on each chair, and may be read out at the start of gatherings from time to time.

Ground Rules & Culture

1)       We start with a time of silence to put anything right between us & Him, that we might come to our interceding prayers with "…clean hands and a clean heart…"   During the silence, please ask God to show you anything that needs your attention before Him.

If He reminds you that are in dispute with anyone, or holding a grudge against someone, putting that right is more important than staying here - relationships are more important than fulfilling roles or taking part in programmes. Go if you need to; to make a phone call, to see someone, to write a letter - be it their fault or yours. (Matthew 5:21-24, and 18:15-17)  Rather than criticising you, we will rejoice that you are trying to make it right, to redeem the situation - and following Father's redeemer heart

2)  We focus on issues for THIS town, not church life matters, national issues, or individual problems, and we are not trying, here & now, to pray for our churches to be full. We ARE praying for the impact of the loving power & rule of the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to be so real, so practically evident, and such a blessing to the town, that folks will begin to honour Him more, and be drawn closer to Him.   (In two towns known to us, the crime rate drop significantly, to the delight of the local police)

3) Intercession is not about us "doing our bit", but rather about the privilege & call to serve & bless others as, by aligning our hearts & prayers with His, we seek to bring things in the spiritual realm into line with His loving Kingdom plans & purposes, which will release visible changes in culture & practice in the town, for the blessing of those who follow Jesus, and those who don't

 4) We will not set ourselves against the major hostile spiritual forces in the town, such as Freemasonry. That is not the remit of this meeting, and is extremely unwise to do, unless very definitely called to do so, and almost certainly having that call thoroughly confirmed by others.

 5)       We will honour one another more than ourselves, and be more eager that others get a chance to pray, than that we do. Let our conduct bless others, as we walk the path of lovingkindness. 

6)    We will seek that, (QUOTE), "…all things are done properly and in order…".

                   i) Don't interrupt others when they are speaking  

              ii) Respect the direction of the leader of the meeting.

                  E.g. "Thank you, Egbert", means it's time to stop!

 

     iii)  If praying with the Holy Spirit's gift of tongues / prayer

          language, please do so silently. Not just very quietly, but  

          silently, so as not to distract others. Other times & places

          may be different, Similarly, praying very quietly in English can

          distract others close to you.

 

      iv) Do please speak loud enough for us to hear you but God is not deaf!

    7)  The part taken by those who prefer to pray silently is just as valued as

    those who prefer to do so out loud.  The same goes for written or off-the-

    cuff prayers.  The attitude of the heart is the thing that matters most

     of all. We will probably have periods of silence, when we can all pray our own

    prayers on the subject in hand. Leave it to the Holy Spirit to conduct such

    prayers as He will. 

   

    8)  We will pray over each of the 7 topics in order, probably for about 5

    minutes on each, and then, if time permits, we will focus on particular issues

    as seems good. On those occasions when we have a speaker to provide a

    briefing on one aspect of life in the town, we will pray into that topic for an

    extended period, and then pray into the other 6 topics. As we introduce

    each topic, any with written prayers provided by us to please go first. There

    is much to pray & praise God for, but please focus your prayers on the topic

    in hand.

 

   9)  We will have a 5 minute SILENT break around half-way through

 

   10) We will work together to finish on time.  Those who need to leave early,

   to go to work or similar, are welcome to do so, and we celebrate that they

   have been able to join us for part of the time.