While I always enjoy church-wide Art Night and church-wide Game Night, I’ve been craving a church-wide event that deepens our connections with God, our connections with one another and is meaningful for all involved. Therefore, you must know that my heart was SO happy on Sunday evening at Let Us Pray. I loved watching children, youth and adults walk the halls of the church as they explored different ways of praying. Trying something new can be intimidating and scary however, everyone seemed to have a look of excitement and curiosity instead. The calm and prayerful atmosphere was comforting as we explored the various prayer stations. We heard profound comments from people throughout the evening, including:

“It was a remarkable experience.”
“This evening has been so powerful for me.”
“Holy Listening was such a moving experience.”
“I felt closer to God tonight than I’ve felt in a long time.”
“The church felt like a house of prayer this evening.”
“I was so engaged that I didn’t make it to all the prayer stations, when can we do this again?”

Wow! Those are incredible statements. While we had hoped for a meaningful experience for all who were involved, I’m not sure we expected to hear just how transformative it was for so many people. Watching the Confirmands build sacred partnerships with their Faith Partners as they prayed together at the various prayer stations was moving. Watching children as they fully engaged in a variety of prayer practices might be described by some as ‘sweet’ or ‘cute’. However, I really feel that the best words to describe what I witnessed are ‘holy’ and ‘sacred’. Watching the children as they engaged in conversation with God was incredible. It was powerful. It was discipleship in action right before our eyes. Two church members served as Holy Listeners at one of the prayer stations. They created a sacred space and spent time in meaningful conversation and prayer with children, youth and adults. While many of our children are familiar with Holy Listening, many of our adults are not. I was excited to hear how powerful the Holy Listening experience was for all involved.

I am so thankful to our clergy, staff and congregation for coming together to create the sacred atmosphere of Let Us Pray. I’m so thankful for the many youth, adults and children who prepared and hosted prayer stations. The variety of prayer stations was wonderful and the impact of a church-wide prayer night was incredible. I love that we were all deepening our discipleship alongside one another. We are excited about having another evening of exploring prayer in the future and I hope you will come and experience it with us. It is also my hope that you will invite someone new to attend with you.

My heart is so happy that Let Us Pray was such a powerful experience for so many people and I am now committed to exploring new ways of praying on my own. I hope you will do the same. I encourage you to take time to view the photos from Let Us Pray so that you can witness our congregation connecting with God on that special evening. Until next time, let us pray.

Click here to view photos from Let Us Pray.