40 Days of Prayer

This is an exciting time to be a part of the United Methodist Church.

There. I said it. Almost out loud, too.

There are all sorts of reasons to deny how exciting a time it is, but the truth is - it's an exciting time to be part of this movement.

Why?

I believe God is moving in the UMC. God has grabbed onto the hearts of United Methodist Christians in a new way and is beginning something new. God is implanting young people with a new vision for reaching new generations with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I believe that it is through the "means of grace" (regular Christian practices, such as Bible study & meditation, prayer, fasting, serving the poor and marginalized, giving financially, "holy conferencing", baptism, Communion, and so forth) that we draw closer to God, and certainly one of those means of grace is prayer.

Early this Spring, a group of young United Methodist leaders banded together in a mission to bring renewal to the United Methodist Church. One way that we are working is through prayer. On May 18, we will begin a 40 day prayer vigil for the UMC. Each day of the 40 day period, we will be led by a prayer written by a young United Methodist leader (40 of us have written prayers for this occasion).

Additionally, we each have enlisted the aid of prayer partners who will lift up the UMC in our prayers.

I would love it if you would join us on the journey. If you are interested in this 40 days of prayer, some of my colleagues have set up a web site specfically for the UMC Young Clergy. You can find it at umcyoungclergy.com. You can follow the 40 days of prayer on the site, specifically on the Prayer Blog (or just click "Prayer") on the umcyoungclergy.com site.

This is an exciting time to be part of the United Methodist Church.