CHICAGO, IL (May 24, 2006) – Several members of the high school student leadership team wept when they learned that the first person to use the prayer labyrinth they created was a 90-year-old member of their church, Covenant Congregational Church, in Easton, Massachusetts. <\/p>\n
The students had worked more than eight hours on Palm Sunday to transform a number of rooms into the special prayer path that individuals in the church could use anytime between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. during Holy Week. When Associate Pastor Johnny Agurkis opened the church doors on Monday, there stood the woman, eager to try something new. When she was done, she left a note in the visitor’s book saying how much she appreciated the experience.<\/p>\n
People who embarked on the special prayer journey carried portable CD players to guide them through the different stations. “It was the first time she had ever used a CD player,” Agurkis says.<\/p>\n
About 60 people took advantage of the prayer walk, including eight individuals who were not from the congregation. They already are asking for the students to set up the prayer path again next year.<\/p>\n
The students – most of them sophomores and juniors – developed the idea after having experienced a prayer labyrinth as part of a previous conference retreat. Rather than having one prayer path in a single large room, the students decided to have the journey take participants through different rooms. Each student leader took responsibility for decorating one room. The students prayed over each room after all of them were finished, Agurkis says.<\/p>\n
“It was a lot of work,” says Agurkis, who helped the students build on basic ideas found in some curriculum resources. The pastor adds that he was blessed watching students take the initiative and use their own creativity. To learn more about this project, contact Agurkis by telephone at 508-238-6423.<\/p>\n
The special prayer pathway is one of a number of ministry activities gleaned from the more than 250 local church newsletters received each week by the Department of Communication. To have your local church newsletter added to the department’s list for review, direct the newsletter to Covenant Communications, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625. Material also may be sent by email to communications@covchurch.org.<\/p>\n
Following are other examples of activities reflected in the newsletters, grouped by conference or region.<\/p>\n
CENTRAL<\/strong><\/p>\n EAST COAST<\/strong><\/p>\n ECCAK<\/strong><\/p>\n GREAT LAKES<\/strong><\/p>\n MIDWEST<\/strong><\/p>\n NORTH PACIFIC<\/strong><\/p>\n PACIFIC SOUTHWEST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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