There’s a growing number of small groups of United Methodists across Eastern PA who gather periodically online via Zoom, mostly for learning, dialogue and conference-wide ministry planning. But there may be only one that is devoted solely to prayer.
The “Conference-wide Weekly Prayer Meetings” has no fancy name, no agenda or action plans. Its average attendance is about a dozen or more, and it meets for only about a half-hour each week on Tuesdays at noon. But it has a surprising regularity and longevity. Since it began meeting in prayerful response to the COVID pandemic in April 2020, it has convened every week without fail for two years now.
A half hour full of power
This prayer group ministry is a half-hour full of power for those who attend, whether regularly or occasionally, especially for those who take turns leading sessions. That power emerges in their creative presentations—often featuring art, music, poetry, dialogue, meditation or other forms of prayer. It also emerges in the candid, heartfelt sharing of prayer concerns, both personal and intercessory, that lift up various people and places, churches and causes. And the power usually becomes climactic in the closing prayer that speaks to each raised concern.
“What started as a response to COVID has transformed us into a small group of prayer warriors,” said the Rev. David Piltz, who envisioned, launched and still coordinates the ministry. “The Holy Spirit took an idea that was intended to last about three months and blossomed it into a weekly ministry that touches the hearts of participants, including some non-United Methodists. This group actively sees how prayer changes things; and the diversity of presenters allows for multiple expressions to be practiced.”
“The Tuesday prayer meetings have provided an oasis for me in the time of COVID, like virtual streams in the desert,” said Judy Ehninger, who directs EPA’s Certified Lay Ministry program. She will lead the next session on Tuesday, April 12. “The warm and inclusive manner in which Piltz guided the first meetings was so refreshing. Soon, more people joined and we became a covenant group with shared leadership, growing together as fellow disciples, clergy and lay.”
Ehninger likens the prayer sessions to those of John Wesley’s early Methodist class meetings. She was moved to start a similar ministry at her church, Asbury UMC in Allentown. “It was inspired by the EPA prayer time at high noon,” she says. “Thanks be to God for the innovative outreach of this ministry!”
‘This meeting is truly a blessing’
Tammy Heich, of Yardley, began attending at the start. “I was desperately missing community and prayer during COVID,” she said. “This meeting was and still is truly a blessing. I have been able to meet different pastors and prayer warriors. And the forms of prayer they bring with them have strengthened my spiritual life. I feel like we are a family.”
Heich attends Emilie UMC in Levittown and regularly touches hearts by lifting up the troubles of family and friends while seeking prayers on their behalf. Although admittedly shy, she has led prayers twice. “This ministry has allowed me to be vulnerable and step outside my comfort zone,” she said. “I think one of the greatest gifts someone can give me is to take time from their busy life, and be intentional and pray for me. I love having the ability to give that gift to others with my prayer-meeting family.”
Chris Foster of Wesley UMC in Bethlehem looks forward to this weekly gathering “more than any other,” she says. “It has taught me how to pray more heartfully, to listen to needs that I might not see if not for our faithful group, and to know that there is hope, faith, and strength in the power of the joint prayers that I have learned to trust and look forward to.”
“We offer a safe space for people to share,” said Piltz, who led the second anniversary session April 5, with a timely Lenten discussion on how God can purify us in the midst of our pain. “But it’s the consistency of those who attend and are used to seeing everyone that has created the trust we have to share personal truths. There is a willingness to be vulnerable, which I attribute to seeing each other to pray week after week. I hope more people will join us and experience that blessing.”