Peoria gathers for 40 days of prayer against
crime
|
First United Methodist Church in
Peoria, Ill., hosts a prayer service as part of the
city's 40 days of prayer. In response to the rising
crime rate, Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis urged citizens to
pray for peace and unity. UMNS photos by Paul
Black.
|
By Paul Black*
Jan. 23, 2008
| PEORIA, Ill. (UMNS)
Mayor Jim Ardis certainly has the community of Peoria
talking.
Faced with rising statistics of crime and
violence, Ardis called on the community to find their voice
through the power of prayer and to engage in 40 days of prayer
for their city. Congregations responded with nightly
community-wide prayer services that began on New Year’s Eve
and continue through Feb. 8.
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Children draw and write their prayers
prior to a prayer
service.
| "This outward
testament of our faith will truly be a defining moment in
making our city a stronger community united in prayer," said
Ardis. "Let this 40 days be the beginning of a new united
spirit in Peoria and the surrounding area."
The Rev.
Timothy Bias, pastor of the downtown First United Methodist
Church and host pastor of the event, quoted from the prophet
Jeremiah at the first service. "Israel was dispersed and
divided in Jeremiah’s time, but the prophet told the people,
'Pray to the Lord for peace and prosperity for the city,
because if it prospers, so do you.'"
First United
Methodist and Bradley-Epworth United Methodist are among the
35 congregations providing leadership for the
services.
"Thank you for challenging us to heal our
community," said the Rev. Linda Butler, a pastor of South Side
Mission and a member of the local school board. "Look around …
so many different kinds of people, all in the family of
faith," she told the first gathering.
The prayer
services have centered on peace; unity in the family and
community; a commitment to God and Christian service;
protection and guidance for city leaders and city servants;
and empowerment opportunities to decrease the poverty and
depression that contribute to violence.
The Rev. Tony
Pierce, co-pastor of Heaven’s View Christian Fellowship,
challenged those gathered on Jan. 11 to be unified as a
community.
"Whether it’s the Walk for Jesus or National
Day of Prayer, we have never been fully integrated," Pierce
said. "Why can’t we get over it? Two years ago, a
predominantly black church and a white suburban church merged
to form Heaven’s View. The tragedy is that temporary events
are not strong enough to overcome the divide in our community.
We have to pray as Jesus prayed that we all become
one."
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The choir of the Pentecostal Church of
Peoria, one of 35 participating congregations, offers up
songs of praise.
| Pierce
said Christians must live out that oneness expressed by Christ
in the Gospel of John.
"You begin in Jerusalem and all
Judea with people like you, then you move to Samaria, where
people are somewhat like you, and then into the world, where
people are different," Pierce said. "We like to say that the
ground is level at the cross, but do we live it
out?"
The prayer services already have generated
dialogue. On Jan. 15, Ardis met with the Rev. Harvey Burnett,
director of the Peoria Association of Pastors for Community
and Spiritual Renewal, who asked that police, city officials
and pastors meet monthly to share information aimed at
lowering the crime rate.
Burnett said the 40 days of
prayer, along with such ongoing communications, are essential
for transforming Peoria.
Ardis agrees. "It’s too early
to know the impact the prayer services will have on the
community; but we are sowing seeds for eternity, not just the
short-term."
*Black is director of communications for
the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.
News media
contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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