Leading intercessions at KPC

We are very grateful to all who lead our intercessions at KPC. We know it can seem a daunting task so we hope this guidance will help you.

General points:

When we lead intercessions, we are praying on behalf of the congregation, so what we say should be relevant to them, in words they understand.
Aim to be praying for a maximum of 3 – 4 minutes.
Remember that leading the prayers is not about reminding God of the things we need to pray for or detailing what is going on. He knows the situation already! Intercessions are not about delivering notices, party political broadcasts or sermons!
Be sensitive to the diversity of opinions on controversial issues; avoid giving any impression of partisanship.
Remember, we’re not telling God what we think he ought to be doing.
Keep in mind that no one prayer can do everything. A prayer that is simple and direct will usually be more effective than one that is overly long or elaborate.
Please sit near the front in church so you can get to the front promptly when it is time for the intercessions.

Preparation:
Some people prefer to read out prayers that they have written in full. Others would rather pray spontaneously, based on short notes. The right method is the one that works for you: preparation and prayer while writing the Intercessions can be just as Spirit-led as spontaneous prayer while delivering them. What matters is that you pray for God’s guidance before you start writing or note-making.

Content:

Try to include a mixture of prayers for our church and its activities, our local area and other churches, city and national issues as well as an international focus. We want to avoid being too parochial.
Make use of the notice sheet as a resource for topics. Please pray for those who are sick or in need who are named on that week's notice sheet. The office will send you details of anything which the clergy would specifically like included in intercessions that week.
Don’t be afraid of reading the newspaper or listening to the news and then bringing God’s world into the prayers.
A bidding (‘Let’s pray now for X’) is not the same as a prayer. Having invited the congregation to pray for X, make sure that you do actually pray for X.
Make sure your prayers are clear and specific, but also that you’re praying for something that others can honestly agree with, so that they can say their responses and Amens with confidence.
It helps to have a response for the congregation to pray between each section of prayers. It breaks things up and helps people to concentrate. E.g. “Lord hear us ... Lord mercifully hear us." “Lord in your mercy ... Hear our prayer.” “Your kingdom come ... Your will be done.” If the response is new, tell the congregation clearly what it will be, and give them an immediate chance to practise.
If you wish to pray for the conflict in the Middle East, please read these helpful notes.
If you wish to pray about creation/ climate change, these notes may help you.
Try not to pray for certain individuals whilst leaving out others in a certain category. For instance, if you’re praying for doctors, don’t just mention one person you know who’s a doctor. Others in the profession will feel marginalised. Better to pray for a category of people.
Using the prayers of others that have come down from history can help add colour to the intercessions. Sometimes using national church of England prayers from the website can be valuable.
Don’t be afraid of leaving a bit of space for people to add in their own thoughts and prayers. E.g. ‘In a moment of silence, let’s bring before God those known to us who are bereaved, asking him to comfort and strengthen them". Remember to leave longer than 5 seconds! If you’re inviting silence, make sure you leave some.
A helpful way to end your prayers can be to say, “Merciful Father ......... Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Delivery:

Speak slowly and clearly. When reading or speaking in public, we have to speak more slowly than we would in ordinary conversation.
Remember, that even though there is a microphone, you’ll still need to project your voice.
Stand about 8 inches from the microphone. Please don’t touch it as it will produce unwanted noise.
Be yourself. You don’t have to change personality to pray.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

Whether you are thinking of coming to church for the first time because you are interested in exploring faith, whether you’re new to the area and looking for a church, or whether you’re investigating baptism or marriage, you are really welcome. Our vision is to be “A house of God’s light for all peoples and generations,” and we really hope you’ll get to experience some of that light.
Screenshot 2023-09-25 at 11.20

You’ll find we have different styles of services that reflect our diverse congregation. Click here to find out which of our services might suit you. When you arrive you should be met by a member of our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome badge. Please do make yourself known to them so that they can let you have a Welcome Pack and, if you like, can introduce you to someone to sit next to in the service.

What is there for my children?
If you are coming along with children, you might find our 9.30 Family Service most suitable. Most weeks, the children start in the church with their accompanying adult (we really value worshipping God altogether as an inter-generational community.) After around 15 minutes, children go out to their own Sunday groups. More details of these age groups can be found on our Children and Young People page. On the first Sunday of the month, we hold either an All Age or All In service.

How do I get to know people in such a big church?
While you will get to know some people if you come to a church service, it is often at smaller gatherings which happen during the week that you will get to know people better. Click here to read about the other groups which run during the week and here for activities that go on at the church.

How can I get involved?
Click here to read about the many ways in which you can get involved in the life of the church. Getting involved is another great way of way of getting to know people. We’d love KPC to be a church where we grow spiritually by contributing.

We hope very much that you will like what you taste and soon feel at home in our church.

Best wishes,
Geoff Lanham, Vicar
Geoff Lanham BCU 2022 IMG 4089

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

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Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.