Kitty O' Shea's Prayer Group

Four regulars met yesterday to pray, in a Kitty’s which was surrounded by the evidence of the weekend snowfall on a brilliantly clear day.

We shared needs and prayed for one another:

• For clarity and wisdom for J. and A., who are seeking direction with respect to work;
• For D., as he goes to DC to run an important workshop on Wednesday, and seeks to undertake ‘prophetic consulting’ as part of his business and calling;
• For Bob, who is leading a volunteer house build process for Katrina victims next weekend;
• The Alpha course which is starting;
• We also prayed for those who were not present in their variety of needs, remembering especially Hank’s brother and the JHOP ministry and their need of appropriate space in which to pray in March.

As we prayed:

• David was reminded of a picture of a storm vortex swirling towards Boston—which he understood as representing a process of people being sucked into Boston (as in the students/ interns coming to pray) and others being ‘thrown out’ in unexpected ways, as in diasphora, a way in which church has traditionally spread.
• We also mused over the images of two storms: Katrina, savage and wild, which ripped the roofs off people’s lives; and the weekend snow storm, which slowed down all our activity, even stopped it for a while, but left a blanket of brilliant, pure white over all the grime of the city today. We prayed for the latter type of storm asking forgiveness for the sins which have in history caused God to move savagely; and prayed for God’s mercy and kindness to change and cover the ugliness with his purity. We rejoiced that He is our "shelter from the storm".
• Bob felt the injunction to be bold and fearless at this time, as in the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer who risked and took an outpost while Saul’s army sat and debated.

Also, we prayed for:

• Our pastors/ ministers.
• Peacemakers in troubled parts of Boston where violence and murder seems to be escalating out of police control.
• People who are subject to intellectual doubt.