We may think of social media as noisy, as somewhere between a constant buzz and a constant cacaphony of voices arguing, shouting, trolling.
Social media can take on a different tone when it is connected with faith practices, and over the last few years entities including the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE) have explored digital ministries through projects including #AdventWord and General Convention 78’s #PrayersOf.
This year, says Jamie Coats, director of Friends of SSJE, “the Anglican Communion Office, SSJE’s partner on AdventWord, asked SSJE to talk with the Thy Kingdom Come team” as they planned 11 days of prayer in May and June. The resulting project will combine prayers of the people with daily videos by global faith leaders – Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will lead one of those days, Prayers To Jesus.
Similar to the Prayers of the People for GC78, the daily prayers are organized by the seven principal prayers – Adoration, Praise, Thanksgiving, Oblation, Penitence, Intercession and Petition – with the addition of four additional prayers – To Jesus (mentioned above), Contemplation/Silence, Celebrate and Thy Kingdom Come.
The project began last year within the Church of England, and the goal is to make it worldwide.
“In 2016 Lambeth launched Thy Kingdom Come and it was larger and engaged many more people than expected,” says Coats. “For 2017 they wanted to go international. In the U.K. this year there will be numerous events organized in churches and cathedrals. The international component is meant to get other areas of the world interested with the hope that in future years events will be organized around the world.”
As of yesterday, the project has had more than 10,000 signups, already surpassing last year’s total signups by almost 3,000. The TKC website lists resources and ideas for families and young people, individuals and churches, as well as events as they begin to be planned, videos and a downloadable prayer journal.
To contribute to the 11 days of prayer (25 May-4 June), go online for ideas and materials, and use the #Pledge2Pray and #ThyKingdomCome hashtags on social media.