Transformation Thurrock : Transforming prayer at Seabrooke Rise

Transforming prayer at Seabrooke Rise

This month’s Transformation Thurrock Prayer gathering took place at the Seabrooke Rise Community House in Grays (right) on Saturday 25 September.

A brief history of Grays Riverside
Seabrooke Rise is the large estate built in the early 1970s when Grays went through major architectural changes. It replaced the old (and much loved) Dutch-style weather-boarded houses that typified a riverside town whose trade and industry depended upon the vital artery of the Thames. A bit further inland, streets that once housed the army of local workers in the brick-fields were also demolished to make way for the Shopping Centre. First Basildon, and then Lakeside, sucked local commerce almost dry and changed the dynamics of the High Street forever.

Seabrooke Rise itself is named after the brewery that bore its owner’s name - that, too, was near the river, and Mr Seabrooke played a major part in the building of what is now Thurrock Christian Fellowship’s All Saints’ Centre in John Street. It is not surprising therefore that TCF and the Bar’N’Bus Grays Beach team are having such a major impact in the locality. TCF have recently held their annual September street party and at Christmas will no doubt put on another multimedia spectacular to which locals will be invited to enjoy mulled wine and hotdogs.

Meanwhile, Bar’N’Bus have seen a parent of one of the young people who attend the bus at the beach come to faith through the faithful witness of the bus team members, and the young people are asking for Bibles and scriptures to read. Of course, the strength of the Bar’N’Bus team is that they hail from a number of churches all working together, being obedient to the principle blessing-releasing-unity.

The Gathering
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The Community House manager, Lesley Kirby - better known as Monty - let us in at 7.45am. 10 of us assembled in all, including Gary Jones, Mary Stockwell and Edwin Hughes of the Grays Beach Bar’N’Bus team; Andy & Jan Blakey and Carol & Alan Robinson form Grays TCF; Grace Gbajabiamila from Stanford’s New Covenant Church; and Rev Andy Higgs from St Mary’s, North Stifford and St Cedd’s, Stifford Clays.

There was no specific agenda except to ‘take it wherever it goes’. And this is how it ended up going:

Worship, led by Gary Jones, Bar’N’Bus’s team leader
General opening prayers
Prayer for the Seabrooke Rise estate
Prayer for the Grays Beach Bar’N’Bus - team and young people
Prayer for the Community House - team, activities and relationship with church
Prayer for next Saturday’s Havering & Thurrock Schools’ Prayer Day and for the schools that serve the Grays Riverside area

The gist of words given and prayers prayed were as follows:

Carol had a picture of something like the Olympic torch over Seabrooke Rise - the higher it’s held, the wider the effects of its light.
Jan read the opening verses of Genesis 1 and then said that God sees everything, even that which takes place behind closed doors. As the light of Jesus is raided up, roofs are lifted off and that light shines in, opening the doors, and so people begin to come out, even those whose curtains remain shut. God says, “I accept them.”
Mary had a picture of a rainbow coming down into the Community centre - at the end of the rainbow was not a pot of gold, but a golden pot. A huge light shone out of the pot over the estate. She also had a picture of children carrying a big umbrella that mushrooms up.
Tim read from Ezekiel 11:19 and prayed that believers working in the area would maintain a heart of ‘flesh’ and not return to a heart of ‘stone’; and that the residents’ hearts would turn from hearts of ‘stone’ to having hearts of ‘flesh’ as they hear and respond to the good news of Jesus.
Gary prayed for the young people on the bus who are now asking for Bibles.
Andy B had a picture of a dam which was small at first but which has grown as the Bar’N’Bus team has grown and has chipped away at it with hammers at first, then sledgehammers. Growing links with the Community House and other activities have been part of this process. Cracks have appeared in the dam, and a trickle of water has appeared. When the dam breaks, it’ll be a flood of God’s blessing as the Holy Spirit spreads throughout the estate.
Edwin had a picture of wheels turning together, likening this to when 2 or 3 come together from different churches to work.
Standing in front of a big board full of photos of all the activities the Community House is involved in - including the TCF Street Party and events at which Bar’N’Bus has joined in with - Tim made the point that the yeast is added to the dough, and so the Lord does the preparation before the yeast of the Spirit is added.* Then, (mixing metaphors) Tim prayed from Genesis 6:14, mentioning the ‘parable’ of Evan Almighty, likening the Community House and Bar’N’Bus unity as a kind of Ark of community transformation, redemption, healing and salvation, that should be water-sealed with pitch. Of course, the Ark is in reality Christ.
Andy H led us in prayer for the Schools’ Prayer Day next Saturday, and we then prayed for Thameside Infant and Junior Schools, and The Grays School Media Arts College.

It was a great time together and felt we'd done some 'business'. We believe simply being present there will have had an effect, as is obviously already the case with what's happening through all the aforementioned mission.

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Our thanks to Monty for allowing us to use the space.

There is no TTP in October because of the Thurrock Day of Prayer on Saturday 16 October.

The next Transformation Thurrock Prayer gathering is due to be on Saturday 20 November, hopefully in another local community centre type venue.

* I nicked this image off Rob Groves.

Tim Harrold, 25/09/2010