Clandeboye Deanery Prayer Night
When last autumn, Area Deaneries were encouraged to meet for a united prayer gathering at some point in 2026, the churches of our deanery agreed that there could be no better time than the start of the year. Tuesday 20 January was our chosen evening, and we arrived to refreshments at 7.00pm with the prayer itself taking us through from 7.30 to 9.00pm.
The Clandeboye patch comprises Glencraig, Helens Bay, Carnalea, Bangor Abbey, Bangor Parish, Primacy, Ballyholme, Groomsport and Donaghadee. Our venue was the Church and rooms of Christ Church Primacy and they offered us a versatile space under one roof – even more welcome on what turned out to be a dreich old wintery evening! Our time together opened with praise and Iona Community worship and closed with more praise and Late Evening Office. The theme we chose was ‘Meander with Moses’. Texts from Exodus, Acts and Deuteronomy inspired ten separate prayer stations, laid out creatively by the nine parishes of the Deanery and we explored them individually for about 45 minutes.
Moses’ birth and rescue from the Nile and his upbringing in the household of Pharoahs, focussed our prayer on maternity care and newborn babies, fostering and adoption, and the work of our local schools. Stations on Moses’ killing of the Egyptian, his flight to Midian and his marriage to Zipporah prompted intercession for the world’s war and conflict zones and the pressures on marriage and family life that are all around us, especially in the current economic climate. The burning bush encounter turned our prayers to God’s direction and guidance and our personal life and career choices, while Moses’ showdown with Pharaoh and the ensuing plagues drew us to prayer for advocacy and justice issues such as trafficking, exploitation and the environment.
Deliverance was the natural focus of the Passover and crossing of the red sea, with a range of concerns readily presenting themselves for prayer including addiction, debt and domestic violence. From the giving of the Ten Commandments, we prayed for our foundational call to love God and our neighbour. God’s wilderness provision of manna, quail and water from the rock was an opportunity to thank God for the growth and fruit we see in current moves of the Sprit such as the Quiet Revival. Our final station, Finishing Well, took us from the legacy of Moses to the hopes and dreams we have for witnessing and working for the Kingdom in our own personal and parish situations.
The mood felt prayerful throughout and, with opportunities for both collective and personal prayer, liturgical and informal, as well as praise and silence, the aim was that all participants could share and contribute. Reactions at the end were universally positive and appreciative, but there was also a clear sense that we had met with God in a real and vital way and were offering 2026 to His blessing and anointing.
With thanks to Canon Simon Doogan
