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It may look like winter outside, you may shiver as the wind howls, but in the blink of an eye daffodils will push through the soil and it will be time for General Conference 2004. The quadrennial gathering of the United Methodist Church will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 27 - May 7, 2004.
What are you, and your congregation, doing about it?
Most United Methodists are not planning to travel to western Pennsylvania for the 12-day event. The majority do not have direct contact with any of the nearly 1,000 elected delegates who will attend. Some people believe they've had zero impact on decisions made at General Conferences in the past and assume they will have an equal lack of influence on the future of our denomination as it is hammered out for the newest edition of The Book of Discipline, in Pittsburgh.
But here's good news. You don't have to leave your hometown, or your favorite pew, to play a critical role in what happens at this General Conference. The GC Prayer Ministry Team, a sub-group of the host Hospitality Committee of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference, assures you of that.
Here's why: You can pray, and this team fervently believes prayer can impact the spiritual climate surrounding General Conference. The Prayer Ministry Team has no other agenda than to ask people to pray. While the prayer team is not listing specific legislation or issues to pray about, you are encouraged to pray like you've never prayed before for this denomination. Pray to the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus. Pray, expecting God to answer, for every delegate to have the mind of Christ and for the Spirit to guide delegates, bishops, and church leaders in their conferencing, decision-making, and worship.
A range of creative prayer opportunities are listed on the Prayer Ministry team's website, www.gcprayerministry.org. Most of the site is already operational. Please check back often for updates and additions.
Scripture says there's a time for everything under heaven and earth. This is surely a time to pray. Every United Methodist in every church across the world can pray in the months leading up to General Conference and during the 12 days of sessions, setting loose God's power to accomplish his will on earth as it is already done in heaven.
Inspiration for the plan
The Rev. John Seth of Harmony-Zelienople United Methodist Church of Zelienople (Pennsylvania) shares leadership of the GC Prayer Ministry Team with the Rev. Dr. Josephine Whitely-Fields of Emory United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh. Whitely-Fields will oversee the prayer center at General Conference; Seth is responsible for arrangements and prayers beforehand.
"Our goal is to enlist thousands of United Methodists to pray. We believe prayer may well be the most significant contribution we can make for the future of our church," Seth says. "This is one clear way every United Methodist can be actively involved and influence the future of the church."
He explained recently how this extensive ministry, featured on the website, came about. Seth, a General Conference delegate in 2000 and in 2004, urged churches in his local conference to prepare for General Conference four years ago, to set aside 40 days to prayer prior to and during the days of conferencing. He also requested prayer partners for the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference's lay and clergy delegates. Those two things are incorporated into the current plan. This year, every Conference is asked to develop a plan to assign prayer partners for each GC04 delegate.
The Rev. Terry Teykl, a United Methodist who devotes himself fulltime to speaking and writing on prayer, also contributed ideas. In 2000, Teykl requested one million people pray at "high noon" each Thursday and that each church hold a "Wesley Fast," fasting from Thursday noon to Friday noon, each week, for the denomination. He also asked people to come to Cleveland as prayer delegates. Those three elements are a part of GC04 prayer ministry.
Seth says a third category of the vision was birthed when he saw the East Ohio Conference holding concerts of prayer and providing prayer stations for those who prayed during General Conference in Cleveland. In addition, this year the team hopes to provide a hospitality suite for those who come to pray.
One challenge is to request prayer without any agenda except to pray. Seth says once a hint of church politics enters into the ministry, it comes under a shadow that may keep some people from promoting prayer for GC04 or from even praying themselves. "Everyone prays differently, men and women pray differently. We're not asking people to conform to any one style of prayer. We're not telling them what to pray. We're only asking them to pray," Seth emphasizes.
Prayer delegates
Terry Teykl again urges people to come to General Conference as prayer delegates. "Come at your own expense, or your church may help pay your way. We had 200 people come as prayer delegates to Cleveland (in 2000). We hope to have at least twice that, maybe 600, this time," he says. The Prayer Ministry Team is working on providing housing with United Methodist families for at least some of those who come as prayer delegates.
Part of the strategy of the Prayer Ministry Team is prayer walking, which people can do any time throughout GC04, as well as on a special "Day of Spiritual Preparation" scheduled the day before General Conference begins. Prayer walkers pace an area alone or with others, praying for the Holy Spirit's presence and wisdom to be poured out upon those whose steps will follow in the coming hours and days.
"One of the most important things you can do is pray 'onsite, with insight,'" Teykl says. He remembers one person prayer walking in Cleveland who was stopped by a police officer. The prayer delegate explained what was going on and before their conversation ended the officer accepted Jesus as his personal Lord.
"I have a Jesus agenda, I think we need more of Jesus in the church," Teykl says, lifting up his newest book, The Presence-Based Church, as a resource. "We want the presence of God to be so real that the devil won't be able to do his thing, that disunity will dissolve and God's will is done," he says.
What you can do
The Council of Bishops has issued a call to Prayer and Fasting for General Conference, asking God to work through GC04 to guide our church to become more effective in its mission and ministry of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Ask your church leaders to immediately implement a version of the prayer and fasting plan found on the website.
Visit the website often, pray about your personal involvement, and encourage your church to come on board in every way possible. Make sure to fill in a volunteer form found on the site, and return it promptly.
Print out the GC04 logo found on the website and keep it as a reminder to pray. The logo features a representation of Pittsburgh's three rivers, the United Methodist cross-and-flame insignia, and a globe, under the theme, "Water Washed and Spirit Born." Seth explains the logo "takes the biblical imagery of rivers, combined with those that run through Pittsburgh, to represent the Holy Spirit and prayers flowing over and saturating the General Conference. It fits with the theme for General Conference, 'Water Washed, Spirit Born.'"
The price for holding prayer sessions for 12 days is costly and is another matter for prayer. Seth says, "We have a $25,000 vision and a $5,000 budget," (provided by the Western Pennsylvania Conference.) A few people who've visited the website have sent contributions and others are lending financial support.
Support from General Conference
The General Commission on General Conference has provided a beautiful, spacious area for prayer ministry to occur in Pittsburgh. Seth says he is incredibly grateful to Gary Bowen and the commission that this space is in the Grand Ballroom at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. The ballroom will be transformed into a Prayer Room with prayer stations, prayer tents, and as a venue for daily concerts of prayer.
In response, Bowen, who holds the title of Deputy General Secretary of General Conference, says he is "only" the business manager for GC04. "I do the nitty gritty stuff, all I can do is facilitate," he says. Looking at available space, the general commission's foremost responsibility was to provide areas for legislative work to be accomplished. He says the commission then released space for the Prayer Ministry team to set up a Prayer Room because commission members felt it was important to emphasize prayer. "The only way this General Conference works is through prayer. I looked for a suitable space that had enough size and was easily accessible to the delegates," he says.
What does Bowen request as far as prayer for himself regarding General Conference? "Survival!" he laughs, then says his overarching request is for smooth sailing when GC04 arrives. "Pray for General Conference arrangements to turn out in such a way that they allow delegates to do the best job they possibly can as they do that which God calls them to do."
That's also the prayer of the Prayer Ministry Team. They believe that as people submit all things to God through saturated prayer, he will be exalted, his glory will fall, and a fresh unity and vision for reaching the world can come out of Pittsburgh next spring.
Jan Woodard, (jwoodard@wpia.net), is a staff writer for the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, an inspirational speaker, and educational consultant for her conference, and is public relations chair of the GC Prayer Ministry Team. She's a member of Grace UM Church in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where she led the prayer ministry committee for the past three years.
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