“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.”
(1 Timothy 2:1-3)
What is “Praying Our Way to San Jose?” It’s a road trip – and a whole lot more. In the week before the 218th General Asembly, Tammy Wiens-Sorge, Associate for Spiritual Formation and Stephany Jackson, Coordinator for Congregational Leadership, traveled by plane, train and automobile from Louisville to San Jose. Congregations along the route hosted them in a special service of prayer for our denomination.We were blessed to have responses from churches along the way from Louisville to San Jose. We were especially excited to hear from several congregations not on this route, but who committed to praying with us! We celebrate the wind of the Spirit, blowing through churches all across the country and moving them to hold a special worship service during the week of June 15.
Stephany and I pose in front of Lee’s Summit First Presbyterian. Read updates from the road. Tammy emailed updates from along the way. Follow her journey here.
Day 1- Liz picked me up at the hotel and we made our way to the United African Presbyterian Church. We made one stop to pick up Faye Chu who is the business manager/accountant for Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery. I formed an instant friendship with these two women as we exchanged stories of our call to ministry. Another instant friendship was forged when I walked into the church and met Jemimah. We hugged like family members who’d reunited after a long absence. But of course each of these friendships began some months ago through phone calls and emails and shared plans for the worship service we were about to hold. Keep reading.
Day 2 – We woke to a glorious morning in downtown St. Louis, excited about our Amtrak leg of the journey. We’d purposely chosen the Sheraton for our overnight accommodation because of its proximity to the train station. It was only a three-block walk, but since we were carrying luggage we allowed ourselves 30 minutes to get there. As it turned out, we needed every minute! Keep reading.
Day 6 – Last night we worshiped at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Reno, Nevada. Participants came from all over the three connected presbyteries and I am grateful to all who were in attendance. We were especially blessed to have two special guests from Texas who were also “praying their way to San Jose” and made an intentional detour in order to be part of last night’s service. Debbie Cenko and Mary Mahlmann traveled from Wharton, Texas. Can you believe it! Keep reading.
We’re in San Jose! – June 21 – Stephany and I arrived safely in San Jose yesterday afternoon. We arrived with Chandra Kearns and her colleagues in the “Health on the Move” RV. What a way to see the country … a little bumpy, but an adventure worth repeating. It’s been fantastic to hear from so many people at GA about the variety of ways their prayers have been with us during our pilgrimage of prayer. It is so awesome to feel the heartbeat of the church through the overwhelming response to this invitation to prayer.Keep reading.
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