Pauline
Jones Hord has written a collection of her prayers for President George
W. Bush: 'Praying for the President.' Hord, 96, is a lifelong United
Methodist and member of Christ Church in Memphis. A UMNS photo. Photo
number 03-139, Accompanies UMNS #215, 4/10/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Pauline Jones Hord believes President George W. Bush is "the kind of president we should get behind in prayer."
She
believes it so much she has written a collection of her prayers:
Praying for the President. Hord, 96, is a lifelong United Methodist and
member of Christ Church in Memphis.
"One of the deep desires of
my heart is that the Christians and God-loving people of America will
unite in daily prayer for our president, the administration and our
nation," she said.
Brandon Windsor, manager of the Memphis
Cokesbury store where the book is being sold, said Hord told him she
heard the president mention that he reads a devotional and prays every
morning.
Hord's book of prayers was originally inspired by
President Jimmy Carter. While watching his inauguration, she said she
felt a "strong urging" to pray for him every day during his first year
as president. She kept a journal, writing down each day a scripture
relating to leaders, and then recording her prayers.
"At the end
of the year, she stored those 365 devotions in her writing room,"
Windsor related. They weren't to see the light of day again until Faithe
Finley, an editor with the Christian book publisher Master Design
Ministries, was looking through a stack of Hord's writings.
"Dr.
Hord had contacted Ms. Finley about printing some of her poetry,"
Windsor said. "But they put the poetry on hold when Faithe found the
manuscript for the devotional book." Praying for the President has
received a great deal of attention in the Memphis area. WREG-TV
interviewed her about the book and aired the story on March 19 - the
same evening that U.S.-led forces went to war against Iraq.
"We
sold 15 copies the next day to people unfamiliar with Cokesbury,"
Windsor said. "At least, they had to ask directions to the store!"
The first printing of 2,000-2,500 books will be sold for $15 each. Subsequent printings will be reduced in price to $5 each.
"Dr.
Hord isn't trying to make a profit from the book," Windsor said. "All
the money is going into the Pauline Jones Hord Trust and designated for
charities chosen by Dr. Hord."
The book's foreword was written by
the Rev. Maxie Dunnam, former pastor of Christ Church and president of
Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky.
"These prayers come
from a heart of passion for prayer and a heart of compassion for the
leadership of our nation," he wrote. "If millions of people could use
this little book of prayers to focus their praying for the president, I
am convinced that it would bring a spiritual revolution."
After
66 years of teaching and decades of helping others, Hord has amassed an
arsenal of honors. Here is a sampling: former President Bush's Daily
Point of Light (95th in 1989); Who's Who in American Education (1961 to
present); Senior Citizen of the Year (1997); Distinguished Alumni Award
from Rhodes College (1998); Outstanding Business Woman of the Year
(1959); and Person of Vision Award by the Alliance for the Blind and
Visually Impaired (1993).
The book may eventually be carried by
all 70 Cokesbury stores around the country, Windsor said. "It's in the
process," he explained, "but it will depend chiefly on whether or not we
can get the quantity of books we need."
For now, Praying for the
President is only available at the Memphis Cokesbury store. More
information is available by contacting Cokesbury at (877) 221-8638. # # # *Farmer
is director of communications for the Memphis Conference of the United
Methodist Church. This story first appeared in The United Methodist
Reporter Memphis Conference Edition.