06 February 2009
Put A Little Grace and Hope In Your Pocket
With economic recession looming large and severe weather
conditions causing chaos, some may feel that 2009 has got off to a
rather gloomy start. But the Methodist Church is offering a little
bit of hope and grace with their hugely popular 'In Your Pocket'
booklet series.
Grace In Your Pocket and Hope In Your Pocket are just the latest
editions to hit the press following the success of earlier
publications on the themes of peace, prayer and joy. Since the
series began in 2006, more than 150,000 booklets have been
distributed.
Series Editor, Joy Fisher, said: "In a world facing financial
meltdown, grace and hope may seem to be in short supply, but the
booklets remind us that these values can transform our everyday
lives.
"Prayer In Your Pocket and Joy In Your Pocket were hugely popular
and we've found that churches are frequently using them for
visiting neighbours and friends and for prayer groups. It goes to
show that people really do want this kind of resource."
Grace In Your Pocket was inspired by a sermon given by the
President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Stephen Poxon at
the 2008 Methodist Conference. He described grace as being, "loved
completely...and there are no conditions... only this overwhelming
sense of being loved."
The booklets are ideal for mission-related activities and public
events. Some of the contributions have been specially written,
while others have been drawn from well-known authors such as Martin
Luther King, Jane Austen and Superman star Christopher Reeve.
Eighty thousand Grace and Hope booklets have been produced and a
copy of each will be sent out to Methodist Ministers.
"Hope is like the wing of an angel, soaring up to the heaven, and
bearing our prayers to the throne of God," 17th century clergyman,
Jeremy Taylor, is quoted as saying in Hope in Your Pocket; designed
to offer hope in the midst of a busy life.