LCMC Comes Together for Third Annual Three Days of Prayer
LCMC Service Coordinator Rev. Mark Vander Tuig invited members of LCMC to start off the New Year with three consecutive days of prayer, focused on confession, petition and vision, and organized in any way that made sense to the participants.
From January 6-8, 2015, congregations, members and pastors of LCMC came together for the association’s Third Annual Three Days of Prayer.
Based on a brief online survey that was conducted in January, about 46% of the congregations who reported taking part in the event this year were first-timers.
While many LCMC congregations organized prayer services, meetings, walks and other special events to celebrate Three Days of Prayer, many congregations also reported distributing printed and online resources, allowing people to participate individually, as well.
“Our prayer ministry team organized the event and attended to welcome people who came to pray. Prayers with scripture passages, the daily themes, and Bibles were made available to all who came,” said Amy Williams, a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Kerrville, TX. “Some folks reported praying at home if they could not come to the sanctuary.”
In fact, nearly 50% of people who responded to the survey reported having prayed individually on at least one of the three days.
According to Rev. Donna Lou Zipp, the people of First Lutheran Church in El Campo, TX prayed individually, as well as in small groups. Her favorite part of Three Days of Prayer this year was coming together with others from her congregation on the Day for Petition.
“It is amazing that during the precise time of the Three Days (this year and last) we witnessed God answering our requests right then and there. I was called to serve this congregation last year, and this year the exact ages of children needed to fill slots at our school enrolled and a very surprising, yet sizable contribution was given to our congregation. We are a struggling congregation who is in what I would refer to as a "recovery phase". The Three Days of Prayer is amazing...as you know, great things happen on the Third Day! We witnessed miracles. We look forward to expanding and enhancing our participation next year,” Rev. Zipp said.
Many of this year’s participants cited the themes for each day, as well as the sense of togetherness that they felt, as their favorite things about this year’s event.
“It's good to know that your prayers are joining those of a larger community, and to have a specific focus for the community.” said Karen Mason of Faith Lutheran Church in Monticello, MN.
LCMC’s 4th Annual Three Days of Prayer is scheduled to take place from January 5-7, 2016, so mark your calendars, because the number one piece of advice that was given by this year’s participants was to start planning early.
“Start talking about it with the planners in September to decide how to celebrate the event in your own particular congregation. December is too busy to be planning it,” advised Marda Kirkwood, a member of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Idaho Falls, ID.
Photo courtesy of Karen Mason of Faith Lutheran Church in Monticello, MN.
Author
Kristy Thomas is a nerd with an affinity for 90s music, collecting antiques, and creating her own Halloween decorations. When she needs to unwind (which is pretty much all of the time), she likes arts & crafts, hiking and camping with her dogs, and playing the ukulele. As Communications & Public Relations Specialist, she is responsible for keeping the people of LCMC informed of what’s going on within the association and for tackling all of the creative-type projects. For the future, she would like to see the congregations of LCMC be proactive in raising up future leaders and for the “20-30 somethings” to be able to make some cool things happen, both within The Church and throughout the world.
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