March 1, 2018
There are three separate prayer lists or resources at CTR: the list that appears in Musings, the list in the Sunday worship bulletin, and the petitions that come through the Prayer Request Hub on MemberHub. Some petition requests have been on a list for years, and it is past time we coordinated these lists and cleaned them up!
From now on, the prayer lists that appear in Musings and the Sunday worship booklet will be for more immediate needs. What might be included? Someone who is facing surgery or an illness, a crisis situation or a significant need would all be great examples. If the request is immediate or current, please let us know how we can pray! “Please pray now” are the type of requests we want in our Sunday worship and Musings lists.
The CTR Prayer Request hub is an ideal way for getting out important or urgent requests. Once an immediate need is posted on MemberHub or made known to us, that request will appear in Musings and the Sunday worship bulletin for two weeks. If you would like prayers to continue beyond that point, it will be up to you to let us know!
The Prayer Request hub will serve an additional vital function. Through it, we will send out a monthly list with ongoing or longer term needs. This will be our list for “Keep praying for” type needs. Longer term recovery or illness, situations that are no longer urgent but still in need of prayer, people who need continuing prayer support are the types of things that could be included in this list. The monthly list will be posted on the Prayer Request Hub, but it will also be uploaded to the “Files” section of that Hub so you may print it out to refer to in your own prayer time. There will be discretion according to need on this list, but we have in mind a three month time span for requests on the monthly list.
In sum,
-Immediate prayer needs will appear in Musings and the Sunday worship booklet. Immediate requests will be kept on these lists for two weeks unless you tell us to keep them current. “Please pray now” is the watchword for these lists.
-Other or continuing needs will appear on a monthly list that will come through the Prayer Request Hub. Depending on the situation and type of need, requests on this “Keep praying for” list will stay on for three months.
-Please continue to use the Prayer Request Hub for urgent needs and requests! That is the primary purpose and function of the Hub.
How do I make a Prayer Request?
You may do so in the following ways.
-As stated above, any request coming through the CTR Prayer Request Hub is automatically included. Anyone at CTR is welcome to post on the Prayer Request Hub.
-Requests can also be made known by contacting me, Donna Williams, or Steve Savia.
-For private or confidential requests or needs that you do not wish to appear on any of our prayer lists, please contact me or Steve. As clergy, we are bound to maintain confidentiality.
Just Pointing Out…
Cleaning up our prayer lists is the latest example of our ongoing work in increasing our capacity for effective ministry. Increasing effective ministry was our theme for CTR in 2017, and these efforts are continuing!
2-4-10 is our theme for 2018. I am asking each of us, myself included, to consider bringing 2 new people to CTR to help us build for our next 10 years. I appreciate those who have told me they are on board for 2-4-10! Signs of it happening are already evident!
But I have been asked a couple of questions:
Who should I bring?
I leave that up to you, of course. But your neighbor who is plugged into her own church and quite happy there is not the type of person we have in mind. Your neighbor or coworker who doesn’t have a church or who might be looking for something richer in worship — now that’s much better!
Does “Bring” mean to church?
Not at all. It might be better to bring someone to an event or something fun, a Bible study or class before inviting them to attend church with you. “Bring” can include any of the above. We want to include and bring people in, not threaten them. Feel free to invite someone to something other than our church service if you think that person is more likely to respond!
See you Sunday!
-Bill
