A Summer of Prayer
“When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in
trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-15
Dear Friends –
I want to invite you to participate
in something that is dear to my heart – a season of prayer. I want to encourage
you to engage in a summer of prayer—not only in your personal life—but in the
life of Community Presbyterian Church.
As you are surely aware, Community
Presbyterian Church is celebrating her 150th Anniversary in October
of this year. We have set aside the week of Sunday, October 6th to
Sunday, October 13th as our time of celebration and we are planning
to “Remember ~ Rejoice ~ Renew” throughout the week.
I have greatly enjoyed the planning
process, in large part, because of the conversations I have heard:
conversations about our rich history and tradition, stories about saints who
have gone before, tales about the challenges faced and adversity endured. There
is no doubt in my mind that God has been present throughout our 150 year
history. In a very real sense the stories about who we have been are God’s
stories. Learning how God has been at work in the lives of the people who have
claimed Community Presbyterian Church as their faith community and spiritual
home gives me great hope for the future – our future together that God has
planned.
Which brings me back to my desire
to pray together as a community of faith. I believe that even as we celebrate
our history and remember our stories, we are being called into an exciting and
hopeful future. As we celebrate our 150th Anniversary, I believe
that now is also the time to begin to imagine together the next 150 years. How
might we together discover God’s plan, God’s vision, God’s purpose for us at
Community Presbyterian Church?
I believe that the beginning of the
answer to that question is prayer. We will begin to discover God’s plan for us
by gathering together to pray, to care for one another, and to let God’s Holy
Spirit shape our hearts together.
Again, I want to invite you to
participate in a summer of prayer. Beginning on Sunday, June 16th, I
will lead a time of prayer on Sunday mornings before worship. We will meet each
Sunday (for 6 weeks) from 9:00 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. to pray together.
I do hope you will join me. I trust
that we will be amazed at what God is planning to do through us in prayer.
Sincerely,
Pastor John
