By United Methodist News Service*
Aug. 20, 2007

United Methodists in Mississippi will hold times of prayer and reflection Aug. 29, the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall.

Three separate services will be held during the day. The first will be at 10 a.m. at Camp Gulfside on the grounds of Gulfside Assembly, Waveland; the second will be at noon at Seashore Assembly in Biloxi; and the third will be at 2 p.m. at St. Paul United Methodist Church, Ocean Springs.

"What more appropriate expression of our life together than a time set apart to pray with thanksgiving for all that we have experienced since Aug. 29, 2005?" said Rev. Bill McAlilly, district superintendent. "As United Methodist Christians deeply engaged in the work of recovery alongside fellow Christians, our prayer this day is to be a sign of hope and promise."

The services will be brief, offering a time of song, prayer, and reflection together as a community. Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, leader for the church's Mississippi Annual (regional) Conference, will be on the coast to offer words of encouragement at each gathering.

"Wherever you are Aug. 29," Ward said, "take time to remember and to pray for all who evacuated and are yet to return home to the coast, for those who serve in the ministries of long-term recovery, for all who persevere in the communities of south Mississippi."

*Information for this report was provided by Woody Woodrick, editor of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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