A Season of Prayer

 

If you weren't able to worship with us at Wellington Fellowship this morning, you missed the start of an important time in the life of our congregation.

Our service today focused on prayer and the effect it has on our faith lives. And what an effect it is! To sum it up, prayer is a practice through which we humans communicate with God and establish a relationship with the Divine.  It is also a primary means for God to provide grace, or the unmerited love that restores us and brings us into closer relationship with God and Neighbor. This relationship is critically important to say the least, as it links our entire belief structure together. In addition, Prayer is also one of few constant elements in our lives. We can pray in the best of times or the worst of times and know that God will hear us. In other words, prayer is a lifeline that pumps us up with Divine Love and Presence during life’s ever-shifting course. 

Since a new church setting like Wellington is a prime example of an unstable situation, my clergy coach recommended that we pursue the consistency that prayer provides. She reasoned that the many changes in our five years of existence have made it difficult for us to grow, so we desperately need some steadiness.  She is totally right. Having six pastors and three iterations of a leadership team in five years is tough for any church, let alone a new church start like us. Thus, we can greatly use the consistency that prayer provides. Plus, it will also help heal the pain of the past while opening us to the direction that God wants to give us for the future. This is exactly what we need, so I this morning I invited us all to join together for a Season of Prayer.  

So what is a Season of Prayer exactly, and what would it involve? Well, a Season of Prayer is an extended time to intentionally deepen our prayer lives and focus them on specific issues. To translate this into the life of our congregation, we are asking for every member of Wellington Fellowship (and First Church, Fort Collins if they would like to join in) to individually and corporately pray for the good of our church until New Years. So how can you help with this? It’s simple. During your individual prayer time, ask for strength for the people of this church and guidance on decisions. I would also invite you to ponder the gifts that God has given you for ministry. How can God help you use them in this congregation? How can the church empower you to live into where God is already working in your lives?  Then as your participate in prayer with our congregation, ask how we can use our collected gifts to bring forth God’s kingdom. Basically, where is God wanting us to go? Asking these questions as a congregation will help us discern God’s path for us while building up relationships within our community.  

This season is exactly what we need to tie into God’s plan and establish us permanently in the Wellington Community. As such, it will be a constant feature in our worship, leadership meetings and other church events going forth. I look forward to living this season with you and seeing how God’s grace will tangibly change us and transform us into the congregation that we all know we can be! Of course, there is much to be said about how God answers prayer. Or the motivations and methods we humans use in prayer. Those will have wait for a different post, or maybe a late night rant if I can’t sleep tonight. We shall see. So let us head forth into this season and I pray that God blesses you my friends.