Who Will Pray?
The members of St. Hedwig Catholic Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were handed a new kind of pledge card one fall. It said not a word about money. Instead of asking "How much will you give?" the question was "How much will you pray?" Worshipers were asked to fill out a detachable portion and drop it in the collection plate. "We received about a hundred pledges from people making personal commitments to several weeks of prayer and sharing in small groups," says Rosemary Badger, director of programs at St. Hedwig. The prayer commitment was part of an effort at spiritual renewal in the parish. At the top of the form was the Scripture verse "Again I tell you, if two of you join your voices on Earth to pray for anything whatsoever, it shall be granted you by my Father in Heaven" (Matt. 18:19). Next came several options to check: • Participation in Tuesday morning group prayer, 8:30 a.m. • Participation in Thursday evening group prayer, 5:00 p.m. • Observing one day of prayer and fasting each week • Praying for the Scripture lessons given at Sunday Mass • Reading and praying over Scripture for 15 minutes each day • Special daily family prayer "Our people suddenly felt as if they'd had a new opportunity to feel their faith in a real sense," Badger adds. "I think many of them had up to that point felt bound into an institution instead of into faith in Jesus." People prayed for their friends and relatives, and they expected answers; each small group fostered a spirit of trust among the participants. "Prayers went up for those we thought had in some ways been alienated by the church," says Badger. "We prayed that they would become part of the living body of Christ again." One woman prayed that her nephew would become a Christian; the Lord answered ...
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