John Tyson, jtyson@mosaicmennonites.org
Intern, Franconia Mennonite Conference
Christians, whether in the garden in Gethsemane or in the crowded streets of South Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., call out to God. Individually and corporately, prayer is the oldest practice known to the Christian tradition.
In our current day in age, however, we are experiencing many elusive shifts in how we think and, consequently, how we act. Though this is a broad phenomenon, these cultural shifts are changing how we worship. Most especially, they are providing new joys and challenges dealing with matters of prayer. According to Marta Castillo, pastor of Nueva Vida Norristown (Pa.) New Life, “The challenge is to cultivate a lifestyle of prayer personally and a climate of prayer within the church.”
In Washington, D.C., members of Peace Fellowship Church gather on the first Sunday night of every month for a “concert of prayer.” While weekly prayer tends to be more private and prone to interruption, the “concert of prayer” is meant to unify the community in a collective effort to awaken to God. While the “concert” typically lasts 90 minutes, the community often ventures outside the church doors to offer prayer and hospitality to the neighboring community.
Philadelphia Praise Center, akin to Peace Fellowship Church, also gathers among other church communities who reside in the neighborhoods of South Philadelphia for monthly prayer in unity. The Nueva Vida congregation offers prayer and worship to God in a diversity of languages.
Creating new forms of prayer and reinvigorating old forms is a challenge of today’s congregations. Peace Fellowship Reverend Dr. Dennis Edwards is exploring diverse forms of prayer as a response to new cultural shifts. “All of our senses need to be made use of in prayer, especially through art,” says Edwards. While artistic prayer may be less time-honored, the Peace Fellowship community is also reinvigorating the ancient practice of confession in their worship.
As new corporate prayer challenges emerge at the forefront, the leaders of these communities feel responsible to re-ignite their individual prayer life. Philadelphia Praise Center Pastor Aldo Siahaan commented, “For me, the challenge is to have the same attitude and heart every time I pray, but it is not easy. My strength is my prayer life and the people who pray for me. I know my limitation as a leader but every time I pray, God encourages me and gives me wisdom, strategy and so many other things that if I use my own brain I won’t find.”
In similar light, Reverend Edwards stressed, “I can offer a fair amount of criticism to myself, I need to be the example and set the tone.”
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.