Insights from Adolescents’ Prayer Requests within a Christian Ethos School: A Qualitative Perspective

State-maintained Christian ethos schools are a prominent part of the educational landscape of England and Wales, and a growing body of empirical research has sought to access, study and interpret the voices of their students in order to contribute to a fuller understanding of life within these schools and their place in contemporary Britain. As part of this endeavour, this study focuses on what may be learnt from students’ prayer in a joint Anglican and Catholic Christian ethos secondary school. Following the identification of the school prayer board and intercessory prayers within school Eucharists as offering a significant contribution to the Christian ethos school, this study set out to explore and evaluate these prayer requests composed by students. Taking a sample of 212 prayers, an established analytic framework for the analysis and classification of intercessory prayer (the apSAFIP) was employed and other notable characteristics identified (including prayer type, ‘proclamations’, drawings, liturgical language and style). The findings draw attention to the distinctive profile of the prayer requests offered within the school in terms of the issues for which prayers are offered, and the religious language, expressions, and themes that shape these prayers. The study concludes by appraising the performance of the apSAFIP in this new context and by considering what may be learnt from these themes and linguistic forms about the spiritual and religious lives of the students.

In the End, Love

Christian faith in love characteristically believes that love is not conquered by death. Yet modern philosophy (e.g. Heidegger) proposes death as a limit to human existence. Noting the proximity of love and death in human experience, the chapter explores how the idea of an afterlife has been replaced by that of an eternal now in modern thought, as in Hegel and Schleiermacher, but also in modern atheism. The challenge of developing an authentically modern view is sharpened by a discussion of the relationship between death and love in Heidegger. This leads back to further reflection on human solidarity, with reference to the doctrine of the community of saints and intercessory prayer. Under the conditions of historical existence this remains a messianic possibility that can best be spoken of in the mode of the poetic, bringing about hope in a return to ontological rootedness.

The Contribution of Intercessory Prayer in the Growth of the Early Church According to the Book of Acts

The Contribution of Intercessory Prayer in the Growth of the Early Church according to the Book of the Acts provide a great role and influence for the growth and development of the Church. The Church as a Spiritual Organization craves healthy growth and development, both in quality and quantity. One of the most effective and efficient ways is to intercede, in addition to other methods of course. Nowadays, Intercessory prayer is receiving less serious attention in some churches. The growth and development of the Gospels according to what is written in the Book of Acts shows an event that resulted in major and prominent changes to be examined. There is a significant growth in the preaching of the Gospel both in terms of quality and quantity, many prayers delivered to God are fulfilled and accomplished. In the development of Mission and Gospel in this world it cannot be denied that there are certain individuals, even certain groups do not agree that the creation of a Church growth and development is caused by one of the supporting factors, namely Intercessory Prayer. Luke the writer of the Book of Acts reveals the extraordinary events experienced by Jesus's disciples. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit became the basis of everything that happened and the disciples obeyed the commandments. Behind these events there is a very important thing to remember, that they gather and pray, and even intercede for the fulfillment of God's promises for them and the world. Disciples are baptized, equipped, and even empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. There is no denying that this miraculous event in the Book of Acts has had a great impact until now. Because through this event many people became believers in Jesus Christ and accepted the Gospel in their lives. So that the Church is growing rapidly and extraordinary. Everything that happened during the Early Church was the key to the growth and development of the Church today. May Churches today increasingly realize that behind the Intercessory Prayer there is a real power that will be fulfilled by God for His people. Especially at this time of the Pandemic Covid-19, Intercessory Prayer is very urgent and important because the Churches needed the power of the Holy Spirit poured out for the Churches in this world.

Hospital Patrons and Social Networks

This chapter argues that the highly commercial environment of thirteenth-century Champagne infused pious giving with even greater meaning, particularly bequests made to a charitable institution like a hospital, which had as its central mission the performance of the works of mercy. During the course of the thirteenth century, during which the number of bequests to traditional Benedictine monastic houses declined, the scale of giving to hospitals actually increased. The range of people from different social classes making charitable bequests also expanded, reflective of what one might term the growing democratization of charity. As compared with donors to monastic houses, however, lay donors to hospitals placed less emphasis on intercessory prayer and requested anniversary masses in exchange for donations less often than donors to monasteries. Instead, hospital donors focused on the performance of the works of mercy, which, in the economy of salvation, they viewed as the most efficacious form of currency. Those making bequests to hospitals were also frequently guided by pragmatic considerations. Some donors had a family connection to a hospital, with a relative working there whom they wished to help. Others made bequests as an entry gift to a hospital, or with the expectation that they might one day wish to join the hospital's religious community. The chapter then focuses on the patrons of Champagne's hospitals and interrogates what these hospitals meant to them.