Our Annual Review
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‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6 Annual Review September 2014 – August 2015 Celebrating what God’s been doing among us… in pictures, numbers and stories www.thesanctuarycentre.org/whereworldandworshipmeet Together, this year we prayed Every day, Monday-Friday, at 9am, 1pm and 5pm (and quite a lot in between) for 42 weeks of the year in a way that was worshipful, thankful, hopeful, united, outward-focused, varied, creative, and led by what God was laying on our hearts. Our minds were blown by digging deeper into God’s character and into scripture… … and our hearts, lives and confidence to go without fear were transformed in and through his presence. We welcomed quite a few new pray-ers into our local 40-50 strong cross-church community and grew in sharing a deep sense of community with old faithfuls and newcomers alike. And we involved many more beyond our walls in the rhythm by putting the trusty white-board up online every day! Our monthly special foci on: environmental justice (1st) and 21 for freedom – trafficking (21st) have seen us grow in understanding, weep with those who weep – and marvel at the change God is bringing. And peace was on our hearts and in our prayers again and again in daily rhythms and at our special peace vigil last November This amazing picture was painted by Barbara Macnish during our night of prayer – Awaken the Dawn – for the nation just before the elections And she wasn’t the only one to leave prayer debris behind after a significant night of prayer… And together, we’ve been part of hundreds of amazing answered prayers at personal, community, national and international levels These highlights are just the tip of the iceberg but we especially loved: • The incredible breakthrough and specific tie in of timings and events that were involved in our prayer for the new Iris Ministries centre for vulnerable and trafficked boys opening in Cambodia. • That amazing moment of having praised God for reaching 10% of chocolate being certified (and traffik-free) and praying in faith that a landslide towards total certification was coming… only to discover within a couple of weeks that Mars, Hersheys and Lindt all joined Nestle in pledging 100% certification in a measurable and prompt time-frame. • The real sense we had in the summer of being called to pray for images of women and children to enter ‘migrant’ stories in the news being immediately followed by the pictures of the make- shift Calais church flooding the media… and then feeling the urgent need to pray for something to begin to turn the heart of the nation towards compassion… followed by that happening. Many of our prayers have also become resources… putting God’s heart for the world in other’s hands to also pray…. through songs, liturgy and creative prayer resources This year we have created and published 10 Sheet music for more of the songs 8 Studio recordings of key songs 15 Written prayer collections and meditations 3 Sets of prayer stations/vigils 5 Other creative prayer resources 26 Reflective, teaching or sharing blogs and articles 5 Creative monologues, allegorical stories etc 3 Updated/extended new versions of existing resources 75 new resources …bringing the complete library to a total of more than 400 free downloadable resources that help people focus upward and outward in worship… Just this year, this library has been visited nearly 180,000 times by people all across the UK and beyond… bringing the total number of unique hits to nearly 0.7 million since the website launched on 14 February 2011 And many individual resources have been downloaded thousands, or hundreds of times each. and this year some resources have also been re-published or re-distributed by Open Doors Christian Aid Scripture Union CASC-Aid Christian Concern for One World UCB Prayer as well as being used for their primary purpose of equipping hundreds of churches and thousands of individuals. We’ve made great progress with the songs project… • Our brilliant producer Tim Deal has created 8 brand new studio versions of our key songs which are now on the website… (Ask and keep on asking, Come Prince of Peace, Nmoshka, Bring the nations home, Simply Surrendered, He is risen, At the end of myself, I’m coming right in) • which means we are getting close to releasing Volume 1 of Songs from the Sanctuary… we’ve even commissioned Barbara Macnish to start on the artwork, bringing to life a picture she received in prayer for the songs. And we’re continuing to grow in using our creative gifts to bless those beyond our walls… with some amazing responses from passers by, local individuals and businesses (in person and on twitter). In particular, the window displays have really taken off this year… And reached more than 750 people with creative outreach gifts and conversations – and had amazing responses We also hosted an event to help others get excited and empowered about creativity and mission And have spent time mentoring and encouraging a number of emerging outward focused worship leaders and missional creatives. and we’ve led itinerant events for • St Cuthbert’s House of Prayer, York (training) • Churches Together Ilkley (united service) • St Margaret’s Ilkley (confirmation classes) • The Dispersed Northumbria Community (quiet day) • Burley-in-Wharfedale Quiet Garden (quiet day) • All Saints’ Ilkley (harvest service) and welcomed scores of individuals and groups to use our space and facilities for private prayer and their own meetings and courses And we took the first steps to launch our brand new worship busking initiative… And through it all, we saw amazing provision: For the financial year April 2014 to March 2015: Income was £7,824 (all of this was from individual donations – most of which is eligible for gift aid in addition) Expenditure was £5,254 used for: • services, utilities, insurance and licenses • general items such stationary, printing, window displays, creative giveaways, tea bags etc! • recording new studio versions of songs • new chairs and other new or replacement equipment • training We want to also say a special thank you to • Everyone who has prayed with and for the Sanctuary; taken the time to proactively encourage us in our work; and/or given financially or in kind, or with time, in any way. • All Saints Church Ilkley, who have continued to generously allow us to use their premises at 6 Church Street rent-free. • Our incredible Trustees and Management Group who give so much again and again. Here are a few stories and thoughts from some of the Sanctuary’s community far and near… providing a snapshot of the Sanctuary’s local, national and global family and our spread of work with and for them. www.thesanctuarycentre.org/whereworldandworshipmeet “The Sanctuary is a unique and vitally needed resource to the church today. I know of no other centre and online space that offers Jesus centred, justice focussed materials of such excellence and originality. My work at Christian Aid involves inspiring churches to engage with issues of global poverty and I regularly link to Sanctuary pages in my digital communications to churches and worship leaders in the UK.” David Muir (London, Christian Aid) “The Sanctuary is exactly that for me: a sanctuary. It's more than just a place to visit and to be sure of a welcome, important though that is. It's a springboard for new ideas to take shape in safety and to work together to develop them.” Ruth Grayson (Sheffield, CASC-Aid) “Whether I'm working for CCOW or in a diocesan context, I am always hugely grateful for the Sanctuary. There are so many elements for which to be grateful: the beautiful prayers and songs which we can share with people who long for God's presence to transform particular situations ... the creative prayer stations and prayer ideas for people who are doing a special service or time of prayer and want resources to help them ... the blogs, which share the thinking behind the resources and something of the life of the Centre ... and the tweets, which remind us that the Centre is a living place of daily prayer, even if we can't be there ourselves. What I value most of all is the God-centeredness behind the whole. This is not about prayer as a worthwhile human activity – this is prayer which constantly recalls us to the glory and wonder and love of God, to whom we pray, and which helps us to remember both our complete dependence on God's mercy and grace and the beyond-our- comprehension scale of the love which cherishes all things ... ‘His mercy is over all his works’(Psalm 145:9)” Maranda St John Nicolle (Oxford, Christian Concern for One World) “The Sanctuary is an oasis. It’s a wellspring of God’s love and like an oasis supports and brings life to many in a quiet, consistent and beautiful way. For me personally this year it has provided a place of tremendous welcome, essential prayerful fellowship and heartfelt midweek worship. Being a part of the community that is ‘the Sanctuary’ has enabled me to keep focused on God as I’ve walked some new and demanding paths this year. Praying about social and environmental issues with Christians holding a range of political perspectives has been especially encouraging because following Jesus in our service of others helps transcend tribal boundaries in life-affirming ways. It leads into new paths of peace and light as we all pray about the complex needs around us.” Ros Brown (Ilkley) “We know we couldn't be here if it wasn’t for people’s prayers and support.