A prayer corner at Harper Bell Seventh-day Adventist School results from a five-year relationship between the North England Conference (NEC) Area 5 prayer team and the school's Headmaster, Mr Nigel Oram. The connection was initiated in 2018 by Mrs Judith Asare, a member of the Parent Teacher Association, who invited the prayer team to lead a Prayer Service for the school and its new headmaster. This first Prayer Service, held in December of that year, was attended by the headmaster, parents, teachers, pupils and friends, who gathered in the school's assembly hall for prayer, praise songs and special admonitions from guest speaker Mrs Carol Douglas from Manchester Central Adventist church.
Following this, the Area 5 prayer team (Ms Sharon Scott, Mrs Frederica Reid [current NEC Prayer Sponsor], and Ms Prudence Quarrie) were invited to meet with the headmaster, who expressed his desire for ongoing prayer support for the school. A special space was provided on the top floor, in the school's library room which the team prepared, with a prayer table, cushion, chairs, Bible promises and posters.
Throughout 2019 the prayer team attended the school every Wednesday afternoon, collected requests from the prayer boxes, prayed over them, and specifically prayed for the pupils, teachers and support staff, parents and guardians. Parents could also access individual prayer support from the prayer team as needed.
Mrs Asare and the prayer team also facilitated a Thanksgiving Service at the end of 2019 after the school received a good Ofsted report. The headmaster, teachers, parents, children and friends thanked God for answering their prayers.
Prayer sessions at the school were interrupted by Covid 19, but the Area 5 team continued praying for the school and returned to the site in April 2022 after the lockdown. They turned the prayer space into a prayer corner after it relocated from the school's top floor to the newly decorated library in the old chapel on the ground floor. The prayer corner is now a quiet place that the pupils and teachers can easily access.
Recently a Muslim mother speaking with Sr Judith said the best thing she had done was to send her child to Harper Bell Seventh-day Adventist School. She went on to say how grateful she was that the prayer team was available to pray for her during a difficult time. She appreciated the team's support as God answered her prayer.
Our God is awesome; He hears and answers our prayers in His time and according to His will more than we could have imagined!
The NEC's Area 5 prayer team continues to support the pupils, teachers, parents and guardians of Harper Bell School through prayer.
"And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" 1 John 5:15 (KJV).
