If you missed worship last Sunday, you missed an extended time of prayer. December 1st was the beginning of the Advent season and the 2020 church liturgical calendar. We moved through the church to prayer stations where we prayed for our church, our gifts, our struggles, our blessings, our witness to the community and many other things. During communion we also brought forward our prayers for what might be holding us back from fully committing our lives to God and full communion with Christ.
There is no better way to enter into a new year, or anything new in our lives, than with prayer. We all received a prayer card for 2020 to remind us of some things to get us started in prayer. Each of us can use this card to challenge ourselves to pray 10 times each week or more. If you didn’t receive a card or need one for someone else, we will have them available through Christmas. Please take one and use it. Take one and share it.
The 10 prayer suggestions outlined on the card for 2020 were:
- Family: my family or any family I choose
- Church: my church or communities of faith
- Place: my community or other community
- Word: a specific word, such as patience, trust, love, faith, etc.
- Love: something or someone I love
- Need: a particular need in my life or someone else’s life
- Hope: prayers for the future
- Fun: what do I enjoy, let God share the fun in my life
- Fear: share with God my anxiety
- Person: prayers for a specific person in my life
My prayer is that we enter into Christmas and 2020 in fervent prayer for each other and our community.
Faithfully,
Pastor Lee
As part of our 5 X 10 Advent Series, we are looking to increase our participation in 2020 by 10 in each of the 5 areas of focus as Methodists: Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness.