July 2019 Prayer List – English

Unity Women’s desk Prayer List

July 2019: Focus Region: North America

I believe in Jesus, who cured a woman on the Sabbath day and restored her health because she was a human being, and she could see that, for the Lord, it was more important to preserve a life than to follow a law.

Verse 5: A Unity Creed(See Luke 13: 10-17)

When I shared prayer lists for African, Latin American/Caribbean, and European Regions in past months, I was in the UWD office in N America. As I collect prayer requests from and for Moravian Sisters in N America now, I am in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania!

The Moravian Church in North America includes congregations in 13 U.S. States (California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington DC), organized into the Eastern District and the Western District. It also includes congregations in Alberta and Ontario, Canada, the Alaska Province, and the Mission Province of Newfoundland & Labrador (www.labradormoravian.blogspot.com)

As in other regions, many congregations and provinces are scattered so it is difficult to meet easily or often. Pray for opportunities to connect with and support Sisters from congregations that may sometimes feel isolated.

Lift up the N. American women called to serve as bishops in the Worldwide Moravian Church: Kay Ward, Blair Couch, and Carol Foltz. We are grateful for their leadership and inspiration. Pray for all bishops of the Worldwide Unity. Pray they can encourage pastors to follow Jesus’ example in treating women with dignity and love and enabling women to serve as they feel called.

Remember women serving in leadership roles in their provinces, like Rev. Betsy Miller, President of the Provincial Elders Conference in the Northern Province. Pray for other women around the Unity who serve as leaders in their provinces.

The 2019 Women’s Conference in Winston-Salem, held at the end of June, brought together over 400 Sisters. Celebrate those who planned this gathering, and pray for those who will plan the next Women’s Conference for the North American Region.

Prayers for women at the Moravian Women’s Conference who attended the “Unleashing Your Influence:Advocacy in Action” workshop led by Rev Suzanne Miller as they return home to explore the services and systems they want to advocate for and work on in their communities to bring about God’s kin-dom on earth. As John M. Perkins says, “Give a person a fish, feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, feed them for a lifetime. But we also have to ask who is polluting the pond upstream and who put a fence up around the pond to deny access, and who controls the fishing licenses, and why do they cost so much!”

Prayers for the AMOS Initiative (Activating Moravian Outreach For Students), a new and emerging ministry started by Rev Suzanne Miller in the MCSP to build support and advocacy for public schools. Facebook.com/AMOSInitiative.

Pray for all the women ordained in the North American provinces, serving in congregations and special ministries. Rev. Christie Melby-Gibbons and over 90 volunteers started the Tricklebee Cafe, a pay-what-you-can cafe in one of the most economically troubled cities in the U.S. Pray for her as she leads this ministry and serves the community. Pray for churches reaching out to their communities in new and powerful ways.

Pray for Illovis Gonzalez Farrias as she continues her outreach work in Florida and prepares to become a pastor. Pray for the immigrant families she works with.

Pray also for Rev. Angelica Regalado, serving Spanish-speakers in Winston-Salem, NC through Estamos Unidos ministry. Be with the volunteers who help teach music and language lessons and with all who participate in this ministry. Help Moravian congregations everywhere receive refugees and immigrants with love.

Pray for Rev. Lisa Mullen and women in all provinces who lift their voices and call us to cross boundaries of language and economic status, who challenge us to share Christ’s powerful love with those suffering in “a chaotic, shattered and shattering world.” Pray that we find courage to rebuild our churches as places of “radical sharing.”

Remember women who feel called to ordained ministry and are at different places on the journey towards ordination: studying, serving, waiting. Bless their hope and commitment.

Pray for younger women seeking their place in the church. Guide old and young to be open to serve you and to support our Sisters in new ways. Pray we can open our hearts and ears to connect with those who navigate daily responsibilities different from our own.

Pray for all the women serving our church as Christian educators. Help them guide congregations to new ways of worship and building strong faith communities and families.

Please continue to pray for the Unity Women’s Desk, for N. American Advisory Board member Rt Rev. Blair Couch, and all our Advisory Board Members. Remember our coordinators throughout the Unity, and all the friends and supporters who share their prayers, time, talents, and resources to lift up girls and women in search of opportunities to improve the lives of their families and communities. Pray especially for the Women’s Conference in Tabora, Tanzania July 4-7 and that the UWD can learn from these Sisters.

PDF version of 2019 July Prayer List Download