PRAYER@PARLIAMENT

The Second Prayer @ Parliament Gathering for the year was held in the Grand Hall on Thursday June 21st 2012.

Once again Christians from many denominations and from the whole region gathered for prayer. People are now coming regularly from Wairarapa. There were representatives from Gisborne, Tauranga, Invercargill, New Plymouth and Auckland.

We mount in the Spirit on the wings of Praise and Prayer. The evening commenced with glorious praise that filled the hall. It has become a tradition to sing all the verses of our National Anthem, surely one of the most inspirational and God honouring anthems in the whole world! It is really prayer set to music.

Jonathan Young MP for New Plymouth opened with prayer. The Gathering was then welcomed by Eric Roy MP who was deputising for Host MP Chester Borrows an ardent supporter of the gathering who was away on this occasion. Eric Roy, the Deputy Speaker of the House is also a very regular attendee at these gatherings. Pastor Rasik Ranchord added his welcome as Convener of the Gathering.

The Old Testament reading from Isaiah 58:6-12 was given by H.E. Virginia Benavidez, The Philippines Ambassador to New Zealand and the New Testament reading from Ephesians 5:21-33 by Alfred Ngaro MP.

There were three Prayer Tracks.

• The First Track was for The Officers of the House. Eric Roy MP explained the function of the Speaker then we prayed in small groups for The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith (Speaker); Eric Roy (Deputy Speaker); Lindsay Tisch and Ross Robertson (Assistant Speakers). We also prayed for our Local MPs and the Mayors of our cities. Pastor Hamish Thomson prayed for the MPs present.
• Prayer Track 2 was entitled ‘The Growing Divide’. There was a State of the Nation Report from the Salvation Army 2012 from its Social Policy and Parliament Unit. A brief synopsis was presented by Major Wendy Barney. Christians may hold different views on some of the conclusions. You can access it at the following website: salvationarmy.org.nz This was followed again by prayer in small groups.
• The Third Track was on The Definition of Marriage. Pastor Rasik informed the Gathering about Louise Wall’s bill seeking to redefine marriage. Christian Leaders and people need to be aware of this and prepare their people accordingly. He read out the Manhatten Declaration prepared by the late Chuck Colson and others. This can be accessed at www.manhattandeclaration.org. It will be brought into the House if it is drawn from the ballot box. People prayed for this very important issue in small groups.

The next Prayer@Parliament will be on Sept 13 2012

Pastor Rasik Ranchord
Convener