Intercessory prayer is a critical part of functioning as a family of God, as Galatians 6:2 states, "Carry one another's burdens." Many of you have noticed we are not doing this in the manner to which you are accustomed. Instead of praying for these burdens as a part of our Sunday morning experience, we have decided to dedicate the hour we spend Sunday morning to a radically God-centered experience. As much as possible, we want to take ourselves out of the Sunday morning experience so that we can focus on God and His Word. As council and I seek God's guidance as to how intercessory prayer will be done, we have decided to provide an outlet for it through a weekly prayer email. If you have a concern that weighs on you and you feel as if you would appreciate the church to join you in praying for your concern, you can either fill out a prayer card and drop it in the offering or you can email your concern to Christine Hawley at christineh@unionchurch.community to include your prayer need in a Tuesday afternoon prayer email. Life threatening or time sensitive requests may go out in their own separate email.

Here is what we would like this format to accomplish. First, we want Union Church to engage members of the church family in a deeper, more personal way. Sharing your burdens with the church family is a great way to deepen those relationships. Keeping this in mind, please focus your request on sharing burdens and not announcing news. Secondly, this prayer email is a way of serving our community. In order to do this with respect, we will not publish personal medical information nor will we publish requests on behalf of third parties without their permission. Please be sensitive to this when you make us aware of your burdens. Remember, specificity has never been a determining factor in the effectiveness of prayer. The Word of God states that when we don't know how to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. Finally, this prayer email is a great way we can support one another, however it is not a substitute for seeking help. If your situation threatens to overwhelm you, please reach out to council or Pastor Christian. Asking for prayer is not the same thing as seeking help.

I say it every week. I believe God has great things for us as a church and I expect this format for intercessory prayer to be a part of what God is going to do.