As President Bush continues to remind the country that the war on Iraq could be longer than expected, United Methodist Women across the country continue praying for peace.
And now, they plan to take their prayers to Washington, D.C, and pray them every day -- three hours each day -- the week after Easter, April 21-25.
More than 10,000 prayers have arrived at the United Methodist Service Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, as part of the United Methodist Women’s prayers for peace campaign. And they continue to arrive on postcards, in envelopes and in boxes. Each prayer -- individually written from women across the United States and around the world – pleads for peace.
The public prayer readings will begin on April 21. Every day of the week after that, United Methodist Women gather in front of the White House from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Local women from across the United States who are planning trips to D.C. on their own expense will read the prayers continuously during those hours.
Women’s Division directors will introduce each day with devotions and information at the United Methodist offices. Then, Women’s Division staff will follow the event with a debriefing and urge women to visit their members of Congress to share their concerns.
The Women’s Division is encouraging those UMW units who cannot make the trip to D.C. to participate in their communities by assembling to read their prayers and by visiting their state house.
Women’s Division Deputy General Secretary, Joyce D. Sohl, affirms the importance of the prayers for peace, praying for those we support and our enemies, and the potential affect these prayers can have on our world.
“War affects all people,” says Ms. Sohl. “It affects the leaders of countries; military personnel; people around the world; and women, children and youth who are the first to suffer in times of war, oppression and dispossession.”
The prayer campaign came out of a suggestion from a local United Methodist Women member of Washington state. She wrote to the Women's Division in November suggesting that United Methodist Women in all churches across the nation begin a "Prayer for Peace in Iraq" campaign. If United Methodist Women were to spearhead a campaign, other denominations and faith groups might join in, she suggested.
"Imagine if the world heard that the churches in the United States cared enough to pray that there will be no war. We could revolutionize the way some other countries look at America," she said.
Though war has begun, United Methodist Women are praying fervently for peace. They collect postcards in their units, churches and communities; send postcards to the United Methodist Service Center; and record prayers online at http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/prayers4peace.html .
The Women=s Division represents United Methodist Women, a one-million member organization whose purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders and advocate for justice. Members raise more than $20 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.
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