Call to prayer poster
HARARE, ZIMBABWE (May 4, 2021) – On May 8, 2021, a group of central conference leaders is hosting a virtual prayer service to remember the lives we have lost to the pandemic, pray for the sick, and lift up the justice and compassion ministries of The United Methodist Church. Participants include Bishops Cynthia Harvey, Rodolfo Juan, Christian Alsted, Harald Rückert, and James Swanson. The service will feature music and dance from Africa, the Philippines, and the United States.
The date of the service, when a special General Conference was supposed to take place, is not coincidental. The organizers of the virtual event, also proponents of the Christmas Covenant legislation, envisioned a time for the whole denomination to come together in prayer in the midst of rancor and division, and focus on our mission as a church.
The service will be live-streamed on the Christmas Covenant’s Facebook page and YouTube channel at 8AM Pacific, 10AM Central, 11AM Eastern (USA) / 3PM Liberia / 4PM Nigeria, Angola, Kinshasa / 5PM Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lubumbashi, Norway, Germany
/ 6PM Kenya / 7PM Dubai / 11PM Philippines, Hong Kong. Details and a poster can be accessed here.
Rev. Dr. Cristine Carnate-Atrero, Zambales district superintendent in the West Middle Philippines Conference and prayer service participant, says “Our witness is strongest when we are on our knees in prayer to allow the Spirit of God to warm our troubled hearts, and remind us of our common mission to engage in ministries of compassion and justice in our world. This is what we should be busy doing, especially in this time of pandemic.”
“The Church is God’s sacrament of hope for our communities ravaged by sickness, poverty, and natural disasters,” says Rev. Dr. Julio Andre Vilanculos, Vice-Chancellor of the United Methodist University of Mozambique and a member of the organizing team for this event. He emphasized that “We should never lose sight of why we are Christ’s Body in the world. We bring light and hope from our experience of the love of God in Jesus Christ.” The offering gathered during the service will benefit relief efforts of UMCOR in Mozambique.