GC 2016 Louisiana Conference Day of Prayer

The United Methodist Church will hold its quadrennial General Conference from May 10-20, 2016 in Portland, Oregon. In preparation for this important time of holy conferencing, the Council of Bishops called for a time of prayer during the 131 days leading up to the beginning of General Conference. Each annual conference has been invited to host a 24-hour prayer vigil in the hopes that our collective prayers will surround church leaders and delegates with support.

This special day of prayer for the Louisiana Conference is March 11. This coming together of United Methodists in prayer will help to strengthen and unify all of us—those attending General Conference, and those throughout our conference and the denomination who are with the delegates in spirit.

“As we walk the days leading up to the 2016 General Conference, let us come together in prayer as we continue to work together to fulfill our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” said Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey.

Our Lay delegates to General Conference are Carolyn Dove, Dr. Sarah Kreutziger, Pete Aguila and Dr. Terrel DeVille. Clergy delegates are Revs. Andy Goff, Juliet Spencer, Pat Day and Bernadine Johnson. Alternate Lay delegates that will also be in attendance are Stacy Hood and Amanda Price. Alternate Clergy delegates are Revs. Lynn Malone and Juan Huertas. Download a listing of the delegates here.

Please join Bishop Harvey and our Cabinet as we show our support of this prayer effort by signing up for a 15-minute segment of prayer on March 11. But if you are not signed up, please offer prayers whenever you can and as often as you can!

The focus of our prayers is to lift up the General Conference, the elected delegates, The United Methodist Church and our world. Your prayer time can be simple, but you might wish to have a Bible, a cross, a globe or world map, paper and pens for writing and/or a lit candle. Have the list of Louisiana Conference delegates with you to reference as you pray. Pray in words of your own choosing, or if you need helps, check out suggestions in the recommended prayer vigil experience outlined here at http://60daysofprayer.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/PrayerVigil_1Hour-Experience.pdf . Also, for a wealth of suggestions, visit www.60daysofprayer.org

Please use these helpful resources as you prepare for our Day of Prayer:

• Visit www.60daysofprayer.org, a useful site created by The Upper Room that provides resources for participation in this prayer event.
• Churches, use this downloadable Bulletin Insert to encourage members and others to join in our collective prayers on March 11.
• Link to www.umc.org/who-we-are/general-conference-2016  for more information about General Conference.