Kingdom signs - prayer vigils and uncomfortable pews

Watch and pray
The local ACAT group set out candles to symbolise the bars of a prison cell as we met on Saturday night to pray for prisoners of conscience and victims of torture. This simple creativity helped focus our prayers especially given how uncomfortable the pews were after 4 hours!
The way each member of the group had prepared a prayer or a situation to focus on during the vigil spoke to me deeply of how the kingdom brings together the contribution of all and offers something that is more than the sum of all the parts. It was good to feel part of a prayer vigil taking place throughout France and to know that our tiny local group was part of something much bigger.
Sustained time for silence and prayer at the end of a very busy and emotional week was a real gift and spoke to me about the kingdom not being about continual striving but also about sabbath values of rest and recreation.