Prayer effort to take place during Lent
Christina Farmer and Lisa Gill, members of the First United Methodist Church, 200 E. North St., are helping get this year's united prayer initiative, “Seek God for the City 2015” established among the city's churches.
Farmer, a Grove City College senior majoring in English and minoring in Christian ministry, said, “Seek God for the City 2015” will take place during Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter. The initiative is set to begin Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, and end on Palm Sunday, March 29.
Members of the participating churches pray each day using a booklet supplied by WayMakers.
WayMakers is a ministry that says its focus is seeing Christ glorified by obedient, worshipping movements.
Gill, the director of serving at First United Methodist, said this is the second year for the prayer initiative.
“I found it in an e-mail I got. I wanted to try it the year before, but I found out about it too late to do anything about it in 2013,” she said.
Farmer said, “The booklet is a daily prayer guide. There are prayers for the city, whether it is for criminals, citizens, leaders or businesspeople. It's praying that God reveals Himself or his plan for Butler.”
Ten Butler churches are participating: First United Methodist, Community Life, Community Alliance, North Main Street Church of God, New Beginnings Free Methodist, Faith Fellowship Alliance, Christ's Outreach, St. Mark's Lutheran, North Washington/Concord Presbyterian and Covenant Presbyterian.
Farmer said the initiative received a total of 1,050 prayer booklets that have been split among the churches.
“Every day, individuals will pray the same thing, think the same thing: seeing God to be active in Butler,” said Farmer. “It's almost like a daily devotion if you want to use that terminology.”
Discussing last year's effort, Farmer said, “It was successful enough for us.”
She added, “It's just a good time for Christians to turn their attention toward the city rather than toward themselves. It brings a deeper connection to God in hopes of transforming the city.”
“Our church is specifically implementing 'Glimpse of Grace,' (which is) keeping our eyes and ears open to how God is working in Butler,” she said.
“Every week at our downtown campus, our members will talk about how they had glimpses of God throughout the week and during 'Seek God For the City' specifically,” said Farmer. “Of course we will be sending e-mails to the other churches involved to ask if they have seen God working. This is definitely a collective force.”
“It will be part of the worship service every week,” said Gill.
According to Farmer, videos will be shown at all the campuses on multiple weekends during “Seek God for the City” that also express the tangible results of the prayer initiative.
Farmer said if an individual wants to participate but his church is not, he or she can obtain a booklet from the First United Methodist Church office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for $1.
There is also an app for Apple devices for purchase in the app store or for Android devices in Google Play for $1.
A free children's guide is available at www.waymakers.org.
The WayMakers' Facebook page is www.facebook.com/seekgodforbutler.
