During Lent, you will once again have the opportunity to be a prayer partner
- What : Weekly praying with a person over joys & concerns – ideally in person, at church on Sundays
- How : Sign up – on bulletin board or email the pastor – and be matched to another parishioner. You will be contacted with the name of your prayer partner by the 1 st Sunday in Lent & receive weekly emails from Pastor as encouragement/instruction
Reflections from a person who participated last year:
Dear Pastor,
The idea of having a prayer partner was awful intimidating, mainly because the simple act of praying by myself is often humiliating. As a pastor, you pray all the time in front of everyone, so it seemed easy for you to suggest that everyone get on board with a partner. Sort of like the Acapulco diver telling everyone to follow him off the cliff.
However, emboldened by a recent near – death experience, I took up your challenge, figuring the encounter wouldn’t kill me, and could produce a favorable advantage even if it did.
Now, the first pleasant surprise was your thoughtfulness in pairing the partners. Mine was someone I was well acquainted with and always enjoyed being around. At any rate, it was a comfortable beginning – at least on my side.
We agreed to arrange a weekly meeting. This was also a snap, as our schedules often meshed, such as before or after activities we participated in or services we regularly attended. Originally, I anticipated a complicated rendezvous that would include a tall Pike, but our decision to meet at Saint Matthew was actually a comfort – level plus, more serene than a jolt of caffeine.
Surprisingly, we soon learned that prayer played second fiddle in this duet. We spent most of the 12 minutes or so in random conversation – basically just warmly sharing what was new. In the final minute, we’d each take a turn giving thanks for the week’s blessings and ask help for any of each other’s concerns.
It turned out to be a pretty simple thing to do. The experience was honestly very enriching and very painless. The best part was becoming more familiar with someone in the congregation and getting to think of that person more of as a friend.
In fact, when I get to Acapulco, I’m going to send him a postcard.
— A Lenten Prayer Partner