East Perthshire Action of Churches Together in Scotland

Last week, the EPACTS group of churches held a Try praying exhibition in Blairgowrie comprising poster displays, object lessons and videos.

Try praying is an outreach based on a booklet published in Edinburgh which guides readers through a programme encouraging them to ask God for help in dealing with difficult situations and to thank him for his blessings. It is intended to help people, whether church members or not, to become accustomed to individual, personal prayer.

The shop at 8 Leslie Street was manned continuously from 10am5pm by pairs of volunteers who were available to answer questions about the exhibition and to provide a listening ear. During the week, over 140 copies of the booklet were received, almost all accepted individually by people visiting or outside the shop. Many promised to read them and pass them on to someone else.

Many of the booklets were distributed to folk whose attention was caught by the window display and who were curious about its purpose. Those who came in to the exhibition were able to get a broader view of the many situations in which people find comfort and healing as a result of prayer. Further illustrations were shown on video clips in which individuals describe their remarkable experiences of help and healing.

Some of the visitors expressed prayers by hanging cards on the ‘prayer tree’. These included prayers for individuals, for general issues and for international peace. Even children wrote simple ‘thank you’ prayers.