Redeeming Our Communities

Praying and Policing in Partnership

Tuesday 21st September 2004, Reebok Stadium, Horwich

What an evening! About 1500 people from all over the North-West Region came to the Reebok for the "Redeeming Our Communities, Praying & Policing in Partnership" Event. Hazel Blears MP from the Home Office joined the chief executives of Salford and Sefton Councils and other VIP's to help launch this exciting initiative to redeem our communities through prayer.

A good contingent of CPA members from GMP and other forces also attended, and were joined by Don Axcel, the CPA's Assistant Executive Director. The large majority of those attending, however, were other Christians from right across the region with a shared and passionate belief that prayer for the policing of our communities would make a difference.

This event saw the launch of regional prayer cells with links to their local Police. We had speeches from Hazel Blears and some other VIPs, interviews with some of the Police Officers present, and also an update on the Street Pastors' scheme from the Rev Les Isaacs.

Above all, though we had music, worship and prayer - lots of it!. Praying out loud from the heart rather than from a book or by rote is, I guess, something most of us experience every week (even though in my original Christian upbringing, at any rate, it was anything but normal). Standing in the middle of 1500-odd people all praying out loud simultaneously was an experience not to be missed and I, for one, found it intensely moving and uplifting - and next time they're talking about filling the Stadium itself, not just a hall underneath it! It was impossible not to know that the Lord was at work and moving amongst us.

Photos of the Reebok Event

Below is a selection of pictures taken on the night. I'm indebted to Chris Oldham for the majority of these (his are easy to spot - they're the ones in focus and properly exposed )

Updates

Saturday 13th May 2006: National Launch @ NEC, Birmingham An amazing event, attended by over 7,000 people. Christians from around the UK joined with leading politicians, police officers and council leaders. In addition to praying for our nation, the event celebrated progress in transforming communities, and key leaders shared ideas and inspiration.

Tuesday 20th June 2006: Nuts & Bolts Conference 2007 Nuts + Bolts - answering YOUR questions This 24 hour conference is for anyone wanting to know more of the details of how to make community transformation a success in your community. At Regents College, Nantwich, Cheshire on 20th and 21st June. Follow the link above for more info...

Wednesday 13th June 2007: Nuts & Bolts Bookings Closing Soon Bookings for Nuts and Bolts cannot be taken after June 15th (and are nearly full in any case), so if you want to attend the Conference, please go to the Online Booking Form. Key Speakers for the Event include: Debra Green (CityLinks) David Muir (Evangellical Alliance) Rev Malcolm Duncan (Faithworks) DS Kevin Borg (West Midlands Police)

Monday 6th August 2007: Neighbourhood Policing Debra Green has written an article for "Neighbourhood Policing" Magazine on the links between Redeeming Our Communities and Neighbourhood Policing. Click Here for the full article...

Thursday 9th August 2007: New Prayer DVD There's a new Redeeming Our Communities Prayer DVD out. Two hours of inspiration and practical tips from key leaders in prayer and community transformation. Featuring Jeff Lucas, Joel Edwards, Pete Greig, Andy Hawthorne, Debra Green and many more. Cost is £4-50p. Click on the link to order online