Orkney Lighthouse Prayer Training

by Sarah Kennedy

On a cold weekend in November group of almost 40 of us weathered the storms to make it to a coastal tearoom to attend a lighthouses of prayer training. We looked at ways we could impact our local communities by praying, caring and sharing and spectacular views with a lighthouse to complete the landscape. It was an interesting and encouraging day and I was genuinely uplifted to see how many people wanted to build up their communities by looking out for one another and looking for ways we could love, serve and help those people around us. There is a good community spirit in Orkney but we can always do more. Orkney is a very safe and friendly environment to raise children but people have the same stresses and strains wherever you go and we all need each other at the more difficult times. Just as a lighthouse warned the passing boats of the dangers of rocks, we as prayer lighthouses can be there to brighten up someone’s day or steer a misguided soul to safety.

We each took home a miniature lighthouse to remind us and to date as many as eight lighthouses of prayer are now in operation on Orkney. At the end of January we are launching a new initiative called Love Orkney to co-ordinate our efforts and link the prayer lighthouses together.

Group in Birsay Tea Room

Sarah Kennedy, 14/01/2009