Epiphany prayer discipline said changing churches

By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
Southwest Texas clergy and laity leaders have incorporated Bishop Joel N. Martinez’s call for fasting and prayer during Epiphany into worship and regular congregational activities.
They say the spiritual disciplines are transforming their congregations.
“Prayer changes everything,” said the Rev. Tina Carter, pastor of The Rock UMC, Cedar Park. “We are trying to be intentional about understanding our role in the kingdom, about how boldness on behalf of God can make a difference.”
St. John’s UMC, Austin, began 40 days and nights of prayer just after Christmas, said the Rev. Bobbi Kaye Jones, senior pastor.
“We had an evening service for our leaders in the church, and there were several testimonies about how people’s lives and attitudes were being changed by participating,” Jones said.
The Jan. 6 through Feb. 20 prayer effort is intended to help church members and leaders discern how God is calling them to transform existing churches or start new congregations.
Martinez said he is grateful that so many churches have joined him in his prayer and fasting covenant.
“I have had churches, pastors and laity in every district respond that they are prayer partnering with me in this effort,” he said. “I have written them, appreciating their commitment and am expecting others to join us. I’m grateful that folks are responding, and it is my hope that we will continue this beyond the season of Epiphany.”
Carter said she was preaching during Epiphany about the importance of prayer and taking bold risks on behalf of God. Such risks can’t be taken without prayer.
She has put a prayer into the worship bulletin each week for the congregation to say together. At the beginning of Epiphany, Carter added, leaders handed out refrigerator magnets that people could use as prayer reminders.
St. John’s always has a 40-day prayer effort right after Christmas, Jones said. This year it coincided with the bishop’s call.
“We just incorporated that in,” she said. “It’s a personal thing—what is God asking me to do about transformation and revitalizing my church and other churches?
“Everything that raises awareness and draws attention, particularly at the beginning of the year, helps people make choices and move themselves in directions they might not otherwise take. And anytime you ask people to pray about something for 40 days, you’re gonna get changes in people’s reflections and attitudes.”
Jones said St. John’s is an urban congregation in the process of revitalization. It has grown 10 percent in the last two years—primarily because of prayer efforts.
First UMC, Edna, has incorporated the prayer and fasting effort into its 125th anniversary celebration, said the Rev. Bernard Ritchea, pastor.
The church is to mark the anniversary Sunday, he said. Martinez is to preach.
Ritchea said he has asked his congregation to pray and fast, using “holy listening as a way of fine-tuning their hearts to hear from God.”
Church members have a bookmark to remind them to continue praying, Ritchea said.
Members are highly involved in the fasting portion of the charge as well, he said.
“I’m asking them to fast from whatever has been eating them,” he said. “If it’s eating them, whether it’s anger, anxiety, food, they’re giving it up.”
Ritchea said the church’s anniversary is an opportune time for the prayer and fasting.
“The only reason we have the 125th anniversary is so that we can launch the prayer and mission of our future,” he said. “The past and the future are never very far apart. And if we forget that, we forget the present in terms of time and of Jesus.
“Sometimes we put so much energy into the period before Jesus, into the wrapping, that we forget to do the unwrapping of both Jesus and ourselves. Sometimes we forget to take off our own bandages and walk out in the newness of life. We do this so we unwrap the present and launch into the future.”
St. Peter’s by the Sea UMC, Corpus Christi, has invited the entire congregation to join the church’s prayer group for morning prayer and fasting.
Every Wednesday morning the Prayer Warriors meet, and Rev. Wayne L. Carpenter, pastor, said he has distributed the material about the bishop’s call to them.
The effort is hugely important for his “transitional” church, Carpenter said.
“With the glory and power of God and prayer, we have increased our attendance in the short term probably by 125 percent,” he said. “And this is absolutely necessary for not only the growth in our immediate church but in The United Methodist Church and spreading the news of Jesus Christ to the entire world.”
Epiphany begins Jan. 6 with the magi’s visit to Christ and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. The liturgical season, which follows the 12 days of Christmas, is a time of revelation of Christ to the world.