Deadline for submission: 20th December 2011, however, any contributions for the Handbook received throughout the year are always considered for inclusion where appropriate.
The title of the 2012/2013 Prayer Handbook is "Crossing the Chasm".
Crossing the Chasm will examine the theme of reconciling discipleship; living the peace of Christ in a broken world and being drawn into God's programme of reconciliation within ourselves, our Church and our world. The title comes from the hymn 'When the bonds of love are breaking' by Hermann Stuempfle.
When the bonds of love are breaking,Hermann G Stuempfle
hands that linked withdraw and hide,
eyes that once had met in candour
now, distrustful, turn aside,
God of healing, reconcile!
When the bridges that we travelled
have collapsed and left a void,
when the chasm seems to widen,
separating souls once joined,
God of healing, reconcile!
God, in Christ you crossed the chasm
when our hearts were far from you!
Grant us grace to reach to others,
broken bonds repair, renew!
God of healing, reconcile!
Prayers should not exceed 120 words or 12 lines. Shorter prayers and prayers for specific themes or countries are more likely to be used.
When submitting prayers, please give your postal address (so that you can be sent a complimentary copy if your prayer is used), your full name and how you would like to be described (e.g. Jane Jones, Local Preacher, Townton).
Please do not submit more than three prayers. The editor can only use a maximum of two per author and it pains her to have to bin the rest!
Please consider that prayers for / from a particular country should include information on specific needs or projects that users of the Handbook can pray for and must be relevant for use from August 2012 to September 2013. Prayers for particular countries are more likely to be used than general prayers.
All Prayers must be your copyright. They can have been used or published elsewhere, provided you have permission to reproduce them. Unless you indicate otherwise, your prayer will become the copyright of Methodist Church Purposes. Extracts from the prayer handbook are used under 'Prayer for the Day' on the Methodist Church website and also in Prayer Focus, the Prayer Handbook of the Methodist Church in Ireland . By submitting a prayer, it is assumed that you agree to these additional uses. If you do not wish to have your prayers used in these ways, please let the editor know.
If you use words from another source within your prayer, please indicate that you have done so and give the source, even if it is out of copyright. Plagiarism is theft.
Photos / Images must be your copyright. They can have been used or published elsewhere, provided you have permission to reproduce them. Unless you indicate otherwise, your prayer will be the copyright of Methodist Church Purposes.
Images are reproduced very small (not wider than 2.5 inches) so they must be bold images that will work well at a small size (i.e. no group shots). If you submit digital images electronically, they must be at a high enough resolution for print, that is 300dpi at print size (ideally JPEG files). Alternatively, send prints (preferably not your only copy of a treasured photo) which can be scanned to:
Prayer Handbook Editor
Methodist Church House
25 Marylebone Road
London NW1 5JR
Please indicate if you need these to be returned to you and include a suitable stamped, addressed envelope.
If you have any queries, please contact the editor by emailing prayerhandbook@methodistchurch.org.uk
Please note that not all prayers submitted can be included in the Prayer Handbook and many will need editing more or less, depending on how they fit on the page and relate to other prayers in the Handbook.
Deadline for submission: 20 December 2011, however, any contributions for the Handbook received throughout the year are always considered for inclusion where appropriate.
