Tuesday, October 5th, we gathered once again with MLAs, church leaders and members of the community to pray for the government of the United Kingdom, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Church and a world in need. It was another time of unity in the Body of Christ, regardless of church affiliation as we came together under the banner of the Lordship of Christ.

Stephen Shaw QC was our special guest speaker. He spoke convincingly of¬†the duty we have to our Creator to live worthy of our callings and to live with the evidence of Biblical character in our lives. He particularly pointed out that¬†those who hold the¬†responsibility of public office, entrusted with the great¬†priviledge¬†of representing others, and who do so before God as those who must give account, should indeed possess and exhibit character. It was truly a challenging sober exhortation, but as usual was laced with Stephen’s quick-witted humour which made it all the more enjoyable.

Beautiful singing was provided by Tricia Ashworth from Grace Fellowship in Dundalk. Tricia has been with us many times and it was our great priviledge to hear her once again. She sang a wonderful version of “My Redeemer Lives!”, thank you very much Tricia.

We also¬†welcome two new MLAs with us this time, Chris Little MLA and Pual Givan MLA, both having taken up their positions in the Assembly after former members of the Assembly Christian Fellowship Naomi Long MP and the Rt Hon Jeffrey Donaldson MP became exclusively members of¬†Parliament¬†in Westminster. “Welcome”.

One of our highly esteemed colleagues, a trustee for the Assembly Christian Fellowship and beloved friend has found rest in the arms of Jesus this past month after a battle with illness. Lawrence Walker passed away on November 9th, 2010. He is survived by his devoted and loving family, Barbara his wife, his sons Graham and Clive and his daughter Aimee.

Lawrence was one of the founders of the Assembly Christian Fellowship. Lawrence and I, met at the 2003 National Prayer Breakfast at Westminster in London. We both attended a talk on how to start a prayer breakfast in your area. After meeting and realising God had placed upon both of our hearts to start a prayer breakfast in Northern Ireland, we met for coffee. As we prayed about our next step, both of us felt to arrange a meeting with Jeffrey Donaldson MP who had chaired the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship in London. We met with Jeffrey and the rest is history.

Lawrence was one of the most consciencious, most dedicated and most honorable men I have ever met. He will be sorely missed. My consolation is that he is that I know in whom he trusted, I know upon whom he relied, the Lord was his saviour. He didn’t just talk his christianity, he lived it. Those who worked with him knew the caliber of man he was, his integrity, his character, his devotion to his family and the uncompromising principles by which he lived. There wasn’t anything which would make him compromise those principles which had their grounding in his understanding of God’s Word.

At the Assembly he was a political adviser to the DUP, a member of the District Policing Partnership,¬†an active member of the East Belfast¬†Westminster Association and a member of Castlereagh Borough Council where he served as Lord Mayor between 2009-10. He was as solid a man as you might come by and truly served others with his gifts and talents.¬†¬†¬†As Councillor Vivienne McCoy said at a memorial service held¬†in Lawrence’s honour: ‚ÄúLawrence was a true gentleman and champion of the people and Castlereagh has lost one of its leading lights…”

Please remember Lawrence’s family in prayer… Barbara, Graham, Clive and Aimee.

In a democratic society, we have unprecedented privileges. Although democracy was birthed among the Greeks, “we the people” have unrivaled ability to choose those who represent us, to shape policy debates and to affect the outcome of the legislation and laws that govern us. We have never been so priviledged historically, either in Britain or in¬†Western¬†society generally. This recognition contrasts greatly with the percieved frustration of many that their voice isn’t being heard and their views are not being represented.¬† Why?

The problem often lies in the fact that few people actually take advantage of and use the privileges of contributing to the debates and policy formation within our democratic institutions. The doors are open. Our voices can and usually are heard, but when we act collectively, each person valuing the contribution which they can make, that’s when our democratic privileges take on their amazing luster. How do we act? By phoning, writing or emailing your local representatives or by arranging to meet with them at their constituency offices.

The internet has made it exponentially easier to do this. You can find out which MLAs represent you locally, visit the websites for their constituency offices, contact them via email at the official Assembly website at www.niassembly.gov.uk or go to www.writetothem.com or www.theyworkforyou.com .

Allowing your voice to be heard does not end there. You can contact your Ministers over different departments within the Assembly, MPs, MEPs, local councils, Ofcom, the Advertising Standards Authority, the BBC… any number of different ombudsmen. The fact is, if enough of us use these avenues of expression, the policies and laws that affect our everyday lives might be¬†considerably different than they are today. Talk to your politicians, and pray for wise and well-informed decisions to be made on your behalf!

Announced today is the agreement on Policing and Justice between Sinn Fein and the DUP. Any agreement appears to be a step forward. Continue to pray, however for all the parties to find agreement together, including the UUP, SDLP, Alliance and others. There still remains outstanding and possibly significant areas of disagreement. Consultation and debate still need to take place, but we believe what we are seeing  is  more hope and evidence that there will be no return to the pain of our past. 

Every¬†agreement will¬†also need “good faith” (trust between the parties) to be walked out. So, continue to pray¬†for¬†wisdom and strength for all those involved to deliver the best that God has for Northern Ireland. Only by God’s grace and blessing¬†will this be accomplished; for this we pray and for this we believe. By relying upon God, we will find that¬†He is greater than¬†our human frailty and trials; and indeed,¬†nothing¬†shall be¬†impossible for us through Christ.

Mark 11:24 says,¬†”¬†Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (KJV)

Thank you God for forward movement! Thy kingdom come; thy will be done! Indeed, right here and right now!

 

The full text of the agreement can be read at  www.nidirect.gov.uk/castle_final_agreement15__2_-3.pdf.

Many MLAs, Church and community leaders gathered in Stormont Parliament Buildings on Monday, the 19th of October, to pray for Northern Ireland, the Assembly and those in authority in our nation. Prayers were also made for the Church, the world and those who do not yet know Christ.

You could really sense the unity among people who gathered together from diverse backgrounds, Party affiliation and denominational/ non-denominational identity. It seems God has shed upon us His special grace in that such genuine and heartfelt prayers are being offered at these prayer breakfasts. There is nothing impossible to God. When we want what God wants for the same reason God wants it, to glorify Christ and draw others closer to Him, then nothing shall be impossible to us. We serve a Wonderful God!

Special music was performed once again by the wonderfully gifted singer Carol Lemon from Glenmachan Church of God. Carol’s sensitivity to sing songs that are always uplifting is a highlight of the morning.

Stephen Shaw QC, the well known and respected barrister from Belfast, spoke convincingly of his approach to the core claims of Christianity. He invited us to approach the gospel and the resurrection of Christ from a juror’s perspective, weighing the claims,¬†the counter claims …to consider the “evidence” of the gospel. While time constraints did not allow a full accounting of that evidence he asserted that many critics who have done just that had¬†come away as¬†”believers” in Christ and gave historical accounts of some.

Mr. Stephen Shaw challenged us to consider the empty tomb, a fact agreed by history, and to consider the many accounts of the resurrection, for which the explanation of a few delusional disciples was inadequate. These were men willing to die for their faith! We were indeed challenged to live for Christ today.

I can only say that after the prayers, the fellowship and the¬†stirring exhortation by Stephen Shaw QC, I truly felt we had reached a higher place in our purpose and destiny as the Assembly Christian Fellowship in Northern Ireland. Thank you Lord Jesus for your “great grace” upon us all and we give you all the glory!

Thanks very much to all who made it possible, those of you who took time out to be with us, our supporters, our Trustees (particularly Danny Kennedy MLA and Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA), the Events office, the staff of Eurest catering and the Stormont Parliament Buildings security staff.

Watch our Events page for the next event.

The “hot topic” for prayer right now is the efforts the Assembly Members from all Parties are making to find agreement and the best way forward to bring devolved policing and justice powers¬†to the Northern Ireland Assembly. There is no doubt that there are hurdles to get over concerning these extremely important issues.

At the same time, I believe we can see God’s hand of favour already working¬†through the appointment of Matt Baggot, the¬†new chief constable who takes over from Sir Hugh Orde on the 21st of September. Not only does he have cross-party support, but he is a devout Christian,¬†president of the Christian Police Association and vice-president of the National Association of Police Chaplains. He comes with the highest credentials from a Christian perspective, has 20 years of¬†experience in the Met and is a strong exponent of community policing.

Pray for Policing and Justice: ¬†Pray for the right financial package to be agreed with Westminster, Gordon Browne and the Labour government. Pray for the right timing for the transfer of powers. In short, pray “[God's] kingdom come,¬†[God's] will be done…” concerning these matters, that they will be handled with great wisdom by our politicians. They are critical to peace and stability in our land.

Now is a good time to pray!

Our new website is up and running and has become a focal point for fulfilling the vision of the Assembly Christian Fellowship. Our goal is to provide you with dynamic content on prayer, Bible promises, the Assembly, your MLAs, current issues being debated and upcoming events.

We believe that providing up-to-date information on what is happening in Stormont will help you, the Body of Christ, to pray more effectively for it.  You can also browse our Prayer Guide and read through precious Bible promises to inspire your faith.

As the vision and work of the ACF has grown, we have become increasingly aware of the need to be entirely transparent and accountable to God and to our fellowship members and partners. We believe that the integrity of the ACF is paramount to building a strong foundation from which to move forward with the our vision of calling the Body of Christ to pray for government and giving the best possible witness to those we wish to influence for Christ.

Five new trustees have been named from the former steering committee of the ACF and from those who regularly attend our monthly prayer times and prayer breakfasts. We are very excited about their acceptance and appointment. They are:

• Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA
• Danny Kennedy MLA
• Cllr Lawrence Walker – Political Advisor
• Pastor Alan Stephens – Senior Minister of the Church of God, Glenmachan
• Pastor Nick Serb – Minister of Religion of Mount Zion Free Methodist Church, Lisburn.

Each trustee has already shown considerable commitment to our work and has made significant contributions to the ACF that have helped to form our current direction and vision. We especially welcome Pastor Alan Stephens and Pastor Nick Serb, both of whom are passionate about the work of the ACF.

Congratulations to our new Trustees, welcome aboard!

The Assembly Christian Fellowship is embarking on a journey to unite congregations in prayer for Northern Ireland and it’s government. We are calling it the Prayer Shield Initiative.

The Prayer Shield Initiative asks pastors, clergy and Church leaders to pray publicly with their congregations, once a week,  for government, all who are in authority and that righteousness would be established in our land. This in turn should encourage all Christians to pray daily for government,  like I do with my children every morning on their way to school.

By fulfilling scripture we can receive all the benefits of God’s promises for Northern Ireland.

If you are a Minister, Pastor or Church leader and would like to stand in agreement with us, committing to pray publicly each week with your congregation (perhaps you already do), please click on the “Contact Us” link and inform us of your commitment. Together we can do far more for Christ than we can do by ourselves!

Updates will be in the monthly E-Newsletter.