Heart June July 2020

August / September 2020 ADVERTS DEADLINE: 9 July 2020 adverts@heartpublications.co.uk HEART Christian newspaper June / July 2020 3
Locked down but not locked out
Shetlanders threw
their nets wider
Thousands dial
up hymns
Zoom meetings may have palled for
some after ten weeks of isolation (you
can’t greet a screen with a holy kiss), but
they did save travel time and expense
When God closes a church
door, he opens a browser
window, it seems.
Lockdown meant that the far
north of the British Isles and
Norway received extra prayer
when the fifth ORCAS (Orkney,
Caithness and Shetland) conference
played virtual host to
Norwegians Astrid Nærbø and
Jon Steinar, who leads a prayer
network.
Thanks to Zoom, Alistair Barton
of Pray for Scotland could
also be in the prayer room.
Spurred on by the early
Church, which was based
on geographic areas rather
than denomination, OR-
CAS’s mission is “to see
a beautiful, empowered
Bride of Christ transforming
the north and beyond”.
Pastor John Clancy
of Life Church, Orkney,
Speakers at the online ORCAS
2020 conference. Top row, left
to right: Andrew Harmsworth
(Shetland), Pastor John
Clancy (Orkney), Alistair
Barton (Broxburn, central
Scotland). Second row: Astrid
Nærbø (Norway), Jon Steinar
(Norway), Jennifer Gordon
(Caithness). Third row: Moira
Scott (Orkney)
Jennifer Gordon, Caithness
A free dial-a-hymn
hotline received more
than 106,000 calls in just
over four weeks.
Daily Hope offers well-known
hymns, prayers and worship
services from the Church of
England. Launched in April by
Surrey mother Pippa Cramer
and backed by the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the 24/7 phone line
is aimed at older people who
aren’t online.
Pippa, 51, said: “My prayer
has been that thousands would
come to hear the good news of
Jesus, and experience his love
amid the uncertainty and the
fear at this time.”
The initiative grew out of Pippa’s
Connections group at Holy
Trinity Claygate, Surrey, one of
the UK’s largest weekly gatherings
for seniors.
“An extraordinary
opportunity to share God’s
comfort and hope”
Archbishop Welby commented:
“It’s important that we support
those who are feeling lonely
and isolated, whatever age
they are.”
The phone line’s success has
been covered by national media,
including The Guardian and
ITV News.
To listen to Daily Hope, dial
0800 804 8044.
Astrid Nærbø,
Norway
Alistair Barton, director of
Pray for Scotland
spoke on, ‘When
the gathered are
scattered’, looking
at what the
three phases of response,
recovery
and reconstruction could look
like for the Church during and
after Covid-19 (this had garnered
over 1,000 views at the
time of writing).
Andrew Harmsworth from
Shetland, a member of the OR-
CAS steering group, says, “Surely
the Church does not want to
go back to where we were
before the current crisis?”
He quotes seventh
century evangelist
St Cuthbert:
“In these days of
darkness what
we need is a fire
from the north”.
The group is
also inspired
Pastor John Clancy, Orkney
by evangelist Jean Darnall’s
1967 prophetic vision of God’s
fire sweeping from the north,
through the UK and across into
continental Europe.
The recorded event is at:
www.facebook.com/Orcaschristians
“If my people...”
– by Andrew
Harmsworth –
see letters page
Moira Scott,
Orkney
Good connections: The Archbishop of Canterbury with
Daily Hope founder Pippa Cramer
Good news in brief
BIBLES FLYING OFF THE SHELVES: The Bible has experienced a
dramatic surge in sales as readers search for hope amid the pandemic.
One US publisher had a 62 per cent increase in April compared to last year.
SPIKE IN ONLINE CONVERSIONS: The number of people seeking
online information about knowing Jesus has increased since the
Covid-19 outbreak, according to three of the largest online evangelism
ministries (Global Media Outreach, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
and Campus Crusade for Christ). Meanwhile, one in four UK adults have
tuned in to online services, and one in 20 have started praying.
MEDICAL STAFF PRAYING TOGETHER: A Christian doctor working
in intensive care told Christian Medical Fellowship, “[I’m seeing] huge
openness from [my] colleagues. Several are praying with us at 7pm
having never prayed in their life before.”
CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES IMPROVING UNDER LOCKDOWN: In
a survey of over 1,000 Christians 86 per cent said that their marriage
relationship or relationship with their partner had improved, and that there
had been fewer arguments and “less irritation”.