General calls for 'second wave' of COVID-19 prayer
General calls for 'second wave' of COVID-19 prayer
22 October 2021
World leader of The Salvation Army, General Brian Peddle, and World Secretary for Spiritual Life Development, Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, call on all Salvationists to join a ‘Second Global Wave of Prayer for COVID-19’.
General Brian Peddle has called on Salvationists worldwide to pray as part of a ‘Second Global Wave of Prayer for COVID-19’ on Sunday 24 October.
The international prayer initiative is to work its way around the world from sunrise to sunset in every country it passes through on Sunday 24 October.
The General said he was mindful that prevailing circumstances were “different from place to place”, but there was “much to thank God for and ... seek his guidance and wisdom as we emerge into the new reality of learning to live alongside COVID-19”.
He said that while some countries were well advanced with vaccination programs, others needed extra support and resources that were not always readily available, and still others were experiencing further “waves” and variants of the virus affecting, especially, people on the “edges of society”.
“This is why I am calling The Salvation Army to a second wave of prayer for COVID-19,” Genera Peddle said. “We will pray unceasingly again.”
The initiative follows the first such prayer wave in April last year, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to take hold around the world. That initiative was a more rapid response to the quickly changing situation but, this year, time has allowed coordinators to provide more opportunities for people around the world to prepare their hearts and minds to bring their concerns, experiences and praise to God in the Second Global Wave of Prayer.
As happened for the initial event, a live blog, hosted on the International Headquarters (IHQ) website at sar.my/prayerwave, will be at the heart of the second prayer wave. The blog is to provide an opportunity for people around the world to share prayers, reflections and experiences of how COVID-19 has affected them. It also is to share content that appears on social media channels. Users of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are encouraged to add their own stories using the #TSAPrayerWave hashtag.
Sharing all content online ensures people in lockdown or who do not feel comfortable meeting in person can be fully part of the initiative. Corps and other mission expressions are encouraged to use the day – where local regulations allow – to draw people together for in-person prayer meetings that focus on the effects of a pandemic that continues to be felt in every country.
For each country, the prayer time is from sunrise to sunset on Sunday 24 October, resulting in the world being covered in prayer for 34 hours.
Three 30-minute, live-streamed prayer meetings are to be run in different parts of the globe. The first is to take place from 7am British Summer Time (BST – 5pm AEDT) and be led by the Secretary for Spiritual Life Development in the Pakistan Territory, Major Arif Masih. From 11am (BST – 9pm AEDT), the World Secretary for Spiritual Life Development, Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, is to lead a prayer meeting from London. The third, hosted by Territorial Secretary for Spiritual Life Development in the USA Southern Territory, Lieut-Colonel Carolee Israel, is to begin at 4pm (BST – 2am AEDT). Each of the prayer meetings is to be available at sar.my/prayerwave.
Bronwyn, the driving force behind the second prayer wave, has suggested four key subjects for prayer on the day: Lament, thanksgiving, praise and seeking:
- Lament for the loss that continues to be our reality, such as loss of life, education, employment, income, family interactions and celebration of significant life milestones;
- Thanksgiving for effective vaccines and urgent intercession for equitable distribution;
- Praise for the faithfulness of God and the new mission opportunities that have emerged through this season; and
- Seeking God’s heart for his Church – including The Salvation Army – in a “post-pandemic world”.
Edited from a report by IHQ Communications, International Headquarters
Comments
No comments yet - be the first.