As any pilgrim will tell you, it is a joy to find fellow travellers to walk a few miles with on the journey. So I was encouraged and touched this week when the Northumbria Community got in contact offering to put the OMS in their prayer diary for next year.
This isn’t the only way in which the Northumbria Community have blessed us. They are deeply rooted in the traditions and liturgies of Celtic spirituality which is one of the ‘four wells’ that we also draw from as an Order, and there are more than a few OMS members who incorporate the Celtic Daily Prayers into their own customary of prayer. This resource features in the daily rhythms of the Poiema Community and we have used it on the OMS Prayer Watches, to name but a few. The final Brendan prayer (page 316 if you have the book) is one of my personal go-tos for navigating spiritual life.
As we continue to grow as an Order and more people start to take notice, we can experience the temptation to compare ourselves with others in pride, envy, or competition. The truth of course is that we are all just invited guests in something much bigger that the Spirit is doing in the earth, calling believers back to radical covenant commitment and discipleship through rules of life and life-giving spiritual rhythms. The small act of kindness from Northumbria acknolwledges this, and is a true reflection of the OMS motto “none us live for ourselves”.
So how do you ask a group of people who may know nothing about the OMS to pray for us in 2 sentences? We went with “We pray for the OMS which is a dispersed, ecumenical, missional order that has its origins in the 24/7 prayer movement. Pray for its members around the world as they live out their 3-fold vow to be True to Christ, to be Kind to People and to Take the Gospel to the Nations, and for its leaders seeking to discern God’s direction through a season of rapid growth.” And maybe you could pray something similar for the Northumbria Community this week?