When is a jar not a jar? When it is filled with blessings!
 
The Yorkshire Baptist Association is stepping out on a “Pilgrimage of Prayer” for Lent - and collecting blessings in a jar along the way. It is hoped the jar will soon be overflowing.
 
Over seven weeks, starting from 2 March, congregations throughout Yorkshire will focus on the seven areas that make up the YBA – the churches and their communities – and pray for their needs as well as giving thanks for their blessings. Prayer events have also been organised for people to pray in groups. People are being encouraged to share their blessings by emailing the YBA team.
 
The focus for the first week is on the Bradford area with prayer events planned on Tuesday, 4 March at the YBA office and on Sunday, 9 March at Bingley Baptist Church.
 
Resources have been produced to help people along the pilgrimage and these can be downloaded from the YBA’s website www.yba.org.uk under the Prayer section. The YBA office will also send out weekly meditations and prayer requests throughout Lent.
 
Regional Minister the Revd Mary Taylor writes, 'We have been really encouraged in the last year at the desire to pray and look to God for our mission and life together in association as Baptists. We would like to continue this prayerfulness together with a Lent pilgrimage of prayer which takes in all the areas of Yorkshire.
 
'Through our YBA Lent Prayer Pilgrimage we will express our dependence upon God and pray for the life, health and growth of our churches in the Association.'
 
This is how the prayer pilgrimage will travel around Yorkshire: