Whether you have been following along with my GOHOP prayer ministry journey for a long time or you just signed up recently, I’m so thankful for your support, prayers and interest in what I’m up to.

What is a Punk Monk?

I know Punk Monk is a strange job title, but I have found it to be a great conversation starter. I actually have it right on my business card. In the summer I participated in a number of monthly Art Crawl street festivals in Hamilton. A huge chunk of James Street North is closed down for artists and entrepreneurs to set up and sell their work.

I love when people pick up my business card and laugh a little as they ask “What is a Punk Monk?” I tell them, 

“I work for a prayer ministry that helps people find healthy spiritual rhythms. We draw on both traditional Christian monastic practices but also new creative ways to play with prayer. My job is to help make prayer accessible to everyone. That is where the punk element comes in. Punk Music is more about participation than perfection. Anyone who has something to express (even if they just picked up a guitar yesterday) is welcome to start a punk band and start writing songs. That is how I think about prayer.”

So many great conversations have started this way, and I love how two words that don’t seem like they fit together makes people really curious and open. 

• I’ll be at the next Art Crawl on Friday, October 10th from 6pm until 10pm (I usually set up near the BMO at the corner of James St. N & Colbourn St). Please pray that I’ll continue to have some good Punk Monk conversations. 
• Pray that I would be sensitive to people’s spiritual journeys (especially if there is trauma involved). 
• Pray that the Holy Spirit would use these conversations to help people engage deeper with seeking God through prayer & creativity.  
• A couple months ago I was set up beside an artist with no church background who was very interested in attending a few GOHOP workshops. They had already been intuitively leaning into ideas of prayer in their own art practice. They were going to contact me over Instagram about GOHOP but that never happened. Please pray for this young man. Pray that we might be able to continue our conversation at the next Art Crawl. 

Prayer for Pastors & Leaders is off to a great start!

I’m the coordinator for GOHOP’s Prayer for Pastors & Leaders ministry. A big part of my role has been recruiting pastors and leaders to come and be prayed for. Often it is a slow start in September. It takes time to connect with people, build trust and get them booked in for a personal prayer session. That is not the case this year! We have had so many referrals and people reaching out to us that we hit the ground running. 

Each time we pray for someone, we start with 5 minutes of silence to practice listening prayer. We ask God, “What is your heart for this leader?” The team then scribbles down some notes. At the end of the 5 minutes we each share what we got. Some people share a scripture, a feeling, or a story. I usually have a picture that comes to mind. Often I have no idea how this picture will land. It takes a leap of faith to share about the random image of a juggler, box of chocolates, or unicorn that popped into my head (all real examples). Each week as I’m sharing my listening prayer, I wonder if this is the week I’m going to look like a  crazy person. Week after week pastors and leaders thank me for the image and say “That was just what I needed.” It is a real gift when they let me in on the secret of what God was saying to them through my seemingly random image. It is also amazing to see how the rest of the team’s scriptures, encouragements, and dare I say prophetic words, all fit together. That is one of the things I love most about being part of a listening prayer team. I get to see how God uses a very diverse group to say something that is far more profound than any one of us could have said alone. 

I work really hard to make sure this is a safe practice and a life giving experience for all the pastors and leaders who take the risk of meeting with us. I would really love to pray for any pastors or leaders in your life (including you). We meet both in person and on zoom so it doesn’t matter where you live. We use the term “leader” pretty loosely. Some of the people we pray for have official titles like Pastor, Executive Director, or Elder. But we also pray for students who are emerging leaders and people who are most definitely leaders in the eyes of their friends but they don’t yet have an official title. 

If you would like to know more about this opportunity, or you would like to refer someone to sign up to be prayed for you can use this link: https://www.gohop.ca/prayer-for-leaders

• I’m seeing a real trend in people that we have prayed for inviting their friends and colleagues to contact me. Pray that this will continue. 
• There has been an increase in executive directors of social services reaching out for prayer. Pray that they would also empower their staff to seek out prayer support. I’m always encouraging leaders to invite their staff to be prayed for.
• I would like to see this prayer team grow by 1 or 2 more people. Pray that God would bring the right people to us. It could be a new GOHOP staff person, or a volunteer. 

What are you doing for Orange Shirt Day?

Tuesday, September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (or Orange Shirt Day). I’ll be attending the city of Hamilton’s Afternoon Gathering at 1pm. There will be stories told by a residential school survivor and a local elder. Lots of communities are hosting gatherings like this and I would highly recommend attending one if you can.

In the evening GOHOP is hosting a Prayer Time for Reconciliation. We will be hearing stories from some First Nations friends, praying together, and reflecting on a Lectio Divina passage using the First Nations Version of the New Testament. We will be meeting from 6pm until 8pm in the Prayer Room (1907 King Street East).

If you are in the Hamilton area, feel free to join me for either (or both) events. 

For those of you in other cities, I would love to hear how you participate in Orange Shirt Day.

• Pray for GOHOP’s Reconciliation Prayer Time. Pray that we would hold our guest’s stories well. Pray that people would come with an openness to listen and learn. 
• Pray that we would be able to lean into God’s call to reconciliation and that we would not shy away from looking at the terrible legacy that our country and churches have been a part of. 

Fundraising Update:

Sometimes fundraising feels a little bit like a song and dance routine. Like you are singing for your supper. I’ve been working with a therapist who does life coaching. We are specifically working on some of my organizational skills and tools to combat some of the negative self-talk that happens when you are doing hard things that are hard. 

• Pray that I would be able to have more in person meetings with people about joining my monthly support team. I send out a number of messages each week. I’m always thankful when someone responds (even if they say, they can’t help). 
• I’m trying to spend one day a week on Fundraising. Pray that I could sustain this rhythm and use my time and energy well.
• Pray that I would learn to tell the story of my ministry well. I’m working on developing some tools to help me with this. Pray that I will get better at being concise. I’m prone to being a little wordy when I just wing it. 
• Pray for my mental health. I find money to be something that causes a lot of internal stress and negative thoughts. 
• Pray that I would be able to raise an additional $912 in monthly support. If you want to pray really specifically, all my budget info is poster here: randellneudorf.com/gohop/fundraising-plan/

If you would like to make a monthly or annual donation to my ministry with GOHOP you can do that here:

Donate Online with CanadaHelps:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/53164

You can now donate by E-transfer:
Send your e-transfer to donate@gohop.ca
You must write “Donation for Randell Neudorf” 
in the message section. 

You can also donate by Cheque:
https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/donate/

Monthly Prayer Workshops:

If you live near Hamilton, I would love to have you join me on a Tuesday evening in the Prayer Room. I would also really appreciate your prayers: 

• Barnabas Listening Prayer: Learning Lab – Tue Oct 7th, 7pm – 9pm. As we enter this new season, I’ll be taking on more leadership responsibilities. I sometimes still feel like a novice when it comes to listening prayer. Pray that I will be able to deepen my own practice as I help others learn as well. 
• Hymn Sing – Tue Oct 14th, 7pm – 8pm. We are a small group of people singing some old songs together and being open to praying about the words on the page. Sometimes the prayers are “God I love this line!” Other times the prayer is “God I don’t like this line, it doesn’t sit right with me anymore.” Pray that we would be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to do with this Hymn Sing night.
• Asah: Creativity & Prayer Studio – Tue Oct 21st, 7pm – 9pm. Pray for my co-leader Megan. She has been off work for quite a while with a concussion. Pray that she would gain back her strength and endurance. It is good to be part of a team where we can fill in for each other but we want Megan to be whole and well.

In other news…

My son Ethan has started his own business called Buddy Boy Dog Training. I’m really proud of all the work Ethan has put into studying to be a dog trainer and researching the small business side of things. It would be a huge help if you could:

• Follow Buddy Boy Dog Training on Instagram and Facebook. You will get to see lots of great photos of the cute dogs he works with!
• Consider Ethan the next time you need a dog trainer or dog walker. All his services are listed here: buddyboydogtraining.ca/services
• Refer your Hamilton friends and family: buddyboydogtraining.ca
• Pray for this young man as he builds up his business. He named it after our dog Buddy, who is a gift from God. We adopted Buddy back in 2020 just one month before lock down. God gave us our Covid dog before we even knew we needed one. We hired a dog trainer to work with Ethan and Buddy on issues they were having on walks. That very positive experience is what inspired Ehtan to want to become a dog trainer. 

Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom of this newsletter!
You get a gold star! 

Grace & Peace,
Randell (Randy) Neudorf