Our monthly prayer diary written by Hilary Prescott.

SUN 1  2  ST.DAVID’S DAY  Let us give thanks for the holy life and witness of St. David and his impact on the Christian faith in Wales, and bring before God the Church in Wales, the St. Asaph Diocese , Offa Mission Area and all Christians in the country, asking for His blessing on the people.

MON  Yesterday was Church Action on Poverty Sunday, so , Gracious God, we give you thanks for all the blessings you have granted us. Help us never to take them for granted, and to be ready to share what we have with those in need. Please bless the churches, organisations and individuals here and abroad which seek to bring relief and hope to the needy.

TUES 3  O God, we ask you to bless all who live along Bee Bank in Fron.

WED 4  Thank you, O Lord, for the Team of St. Mary’s Toddlers Group, for their dedication and hard work; may your blessing rest on the members and all the families who attend the sessions.

THURS 5  O God, we give thanks for all the people who provide, cook and serve the refreshments at our churches, and for their valuable work in promoting the sense of fellowship in church and community.

 FRID 6  WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER  Loving Lord God, we give thanks for the contribution of women throughout the world, past and present, to the establishment of your Kingdom here on earth-in word, action and prayer. Please bless all at special gatherings honouring this day.

SAT 7  ST. DAVID’S FAIR   Thank you, O Lord, for all involved in helping at the Fair at Fron Community Centre today. We pray for a lively and successful occasion.

SUN 8  Let us pray for God’s blessing on all members of our congregations who act as sidespeople, welcoming and helping worshippers.

MON 9  Heavenly Father, may your blessing rest on all who live in Hadley Close in Chirk.

TUES 10  Ruler of the universe, we pray for peace in our uncertain and troubled world where evil seems to reign. Yet we know howeverhelpless we might be to put matters right on our own, you have not forgotten us and are behind the goodness and love that is still present and powerful in the world.

WED 11  O Lord, as we move through Lent, may all who visit our Chirk places of worship today to pray and meditate on Christ’s journey to the Cross, experience new spiritual enlightenment and blessing to help them onwards in their journey of faith.

THURS 12  Let us thank God for the staff at Chirk Leisure Centre  and ask Him to bless them and all who attend the Centre.

FRID 13  Most of us follow our conscience as we follow a wheelbarrow. We push it in front of us in the direction we want to go.  /God has given us two hands -one for receiving, the other for giving.  /A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip. Billy Graham

SAT 14  As Easter and the tourist season get under way, let us remember before God the staff and volunteers who work at Chirk Castle and pray for a good season there.

SUN 15  On this MOTHERING SUNDAY,  Heavenly Father, we give thanks for our Mother Churches of St. David’s and St. Mary’s  and for the support and love we gain from them. We also pray for all mothers as they nurture and encourage their children; be with parents who are experiencing difficulties in their role; mothers suffering from the illness or loss of a child or estrangement from them. Yet we also ask you to comfort and support offspring suffering from neglectful, cruel and inadequate parents.

MON 16  Let us pray for all who are acting as carers – to family members, friends or neighbours, that our loving Lord might grant them the strength, patience and love they need as well asthe support they themselves might welcome.  Let us also think of people who perform this role as part of their work, often poorly paid and in difficult circumstances.

TUES 17  ST. PATRICK  Thank you, O God, for your servant St. Patrick and his courageous evangelical work; we give thanks for Christians in Ireland and pray that your Holy Spirit will guide and encourage them in their faith and witness.

WED 18  Heavenly Father, we pray that you will guide today’s meeting of St. David’s Church Committee, and encourage members of the church in their worship and witness.

THURS 19   Today the Church remembers JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, his ready obedience to God’s plans for him, and his relatively unsung but important role in Christ’s life: so let us give thanks to God for his life and ask God to grant us the readiness to fit in with His plans for our lives and witness to His Son. 

FRID 20  Lord, we pray for the guidance of your Holy Spirit at today’s Ecumenical Prayer session. May we all, in our prayers, be ready to trust that you hear us and will answer us.

SAT 21  Lord God, we bring before you the ministers, assistants and congregations of the Offa Mission Area churches , and ask that you will bless and guide them in their worship, ministry and mission  at this busy and powerful time.

SUN 22  As PASSIONTIDE  begins, and we think of Christ’s difficult and painful last weeks before his death but his triumphant way of coping, let us pray for all facing problems in their faith and witness and in their lives, and ask God to grant them the courage and the confidence to cope.

MON 23 Just as I am, without one plea/but that thy blood was shed for me,/and that thou bidst me come to thee, /O Lamb of God, I come.

TUES 24  Tomorrow the Church is thinking of the victims of slavery, so let us pray for all such victims in the world today, especially those whose plight is unrecognised; may our loving Lord grant them the relief and release they need , and empower all working to help them.

WED 25  ANNUNCIATION  Heavenly Father, we give thanks for Mary’s positive response to Gabriel’s message and how it helped change the world. We also thank you for Chirk Court and its caring work and ask you to bless the service held there today and the residents attending.

THURS 26  Loving Lord God, we bring before you all who we know who are ill, and also for the patients treated in our local hospitals and surgeries. We pray for their healing in body, mind and spirit and that you will guide and empower all working for that relief.

FRID 27  O God, we give thanks for our Church Secretaries and their hard work and skill: grant them the time, energy and wisdom they might need.

SAT 28  O God of Harmony, we ask you to bless our church organists and those who provide the music for our services and who add so much to them.

SUN 29  PALM SUNDAY  Almighty and everlasting God, who in your tender love towards the human race sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross: grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

MON 30  How precious is loving mercy, O God. All mortal flesh shall take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They shall be satisfied with the abundance of your house, they shall drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the well of life and in your light we shall see light. Psalm 36 : 5, 7-9

TUES 31 Let us commit to God all the organisations who use Chirk Town Hall for meetings and events, and give thanks for the place and its role in the community.