Latest News & Prayer Points – October 2019

The Sannox Prayer

“Today I choose to stand in this place you have called me to,
And I declare that You are a Mighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
Your Kingdom shall endure and will never be shaken.
Open the windows of Heaven and pour out Your promised blessings in this generation.
Revive us, restore us and heal our land.
Thank you for going before us to open the way and remove all obstacles.
Increase our Faith, stir up Hope and keep us grounded and walking in Love.
Thank you that You are creating a dwelling place for God and man here; in Sannox, on Arran, for the nations.
Amen”

Dear Friends of Sannox,

Prayer points:

 

1. Prayer Gatherings

In Edinburgh we will gather on Monday 4 November 2019 at the home of George and Fiona Hazel starting at 8 pm prompt. We will be joined by folks on Arran and across the UK and abroad. Please join with us in prayer and thanksgiving for what God is doing at Sannox.

 

2. Restoration of the church and manse

·         Stewardship Loan – The loan process is still with the lawyers. Continue to pray that all goes smoothly and the loan is released soon.

·         Completion of the Church Refurbishment – We are still in discussions regarding the final costs for phase 1 of the church refurbishment. Once that is agreed with our QS/Architect and the contractor we will know how much money we have left to complete the interior of the church. If there is insufficient money we may have to use volunteers working with local professionals. Pray for the release of resources so that we are able to complete the restoration of the church by Easter 2020.
·         Finances –Please continue to pray for increased giving to cover the monthly cost of the loan. We have had new pledges of monthly giving, which is great, but we need more.

 

3. Events

 

Easter Open Day and Rededication of the Church – 10 to 12 April 2020.

We are still working out the details of the weekend but it will include a period of 24/7 worship, an open day for visitors from on and off the island and a service of celebration. An invitation will be sent to local ministers and their teams from the island and from North Ayrshire and of course to our Friends of Sannox. Please put this in your diary, come to the event and bring others. Please pray for the Directors as we plan this important event.

 

Bulb planting for Easter 2020

On Friday 25 October Corrie Primary School children came to plant bulbs. We had an amazing time. All the children and the school staff wanted to ring the bell, they planted their bulbs along the top of the wall outside of the church and finished off with juice and biscuits. The children loved the whole event and are coming back to see their daffodils next Easter. The staff were bowled over by what we were doing at Sannox and the Head Teacher is going to do a project on the history of the church. We also had several visitors, one of which was the grandson of Mr Moles who wrote the poem about the Sabbath at Sannox.

On Saturday 26 October we had 8 people planting about 600 bulbs, including a Christian couple who have moved to Arran and are very interested in Sannox.

Thank you for all your prayers of support.

 

Worship and Prayer at Sannox

On Saturday, 2 November, at 11am in Dundarroch Cottage, we are having an open, flexible time of worship and prayer. There is no structure as such, we just want to meet to thank God for all He has done, is doing and will do in the future. This is a key time of year and also a time of reflection and preparation for 2020. Please come and join us if you can or pray for us where you are. Please bring a packed lunch as the Tearoom is closed.

 

Future Events

Continue to pray for the development of these themes:

·         Alpha weekends, hosted by SCC or self-hosted.

·         Christian leaders and workers retreats offered 3 or 4 times a year as mid-week events.

·         Hosting Open Days to learn about hosting at SCC. Details to follow.

·         “Blessing Weeks” – teaching on blessing, as this is part of SCC values. The first one will be held in January/February 2020. Details to follow

·         Weekend events of worship, rest and restoration.

 

4. Marketing SCC

Please continue to spread the word about SCC to your networks and friends. It is good to see new Friends of Sannox signed up to our network. You are our ambassadors. We want to strengthen links with other organisations, such as SU and Pray for Scotland. We are also keen to forge links with churches, so if you are interested in a link with SCC and/or want one of the team to come to your church to tell the story of Sannox then please email Heidi on admin@sannox.org.

 

5. Pray for the building up of Christ’s community on Arran

God is building community on Arran among Christians living on the island. He is also calling people to come and live on the island and we know of about 6 people who have either moved or want to move to the island. Pray for the Christian community on the island and for the Ministers of the churches that they may know a fresh outpouring of His power and presence.

We bless you, in the name of Jesus, to receive all that the Father has for you and thank you for your continuing support of His work at SCC. May we see more and more people being rested, restored and revived at Sannox in 2019/20.