March-April 2013 Prayer Prompter

A Cleansing Prayer for Peace in and Across our Borders:  God who knows no borders…we pray that we may open our understandings of what it means to dwell in you so that we may welcome the stranger, not as a foreigner, but as an equal. — Written by Hugo Saucedo, Youth Pastor for Western District of MC USA (This entire prayer is found in The Immigrant Experience in Ohio, A 30-Day Prayer Guide, available in the Ohio Conference Office.)

March 1-15, let us unite and pray for:

1)  Annual Conference Assembly (ACA), March 8-9, at Central Christian School, Kidron

• Pray for those persons working behind the scenes, those sharing the good news of Kingdom work, for the seminar presenters, for those bringing displays.
• Pray for the delegates that they may feel the important role they have in decision making, discernment and reporting back to their congregations.
• Pray for a sense of unity in love, for the new volunteers as they get oriented to their roles within Conference.
• Pray that the Conference year ends well.  Pray for vision and energy for the new Conference year.

2)  Mongolia Mission Partnership Planning Group to meet March 8, Kidron

• Pray as they plan to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Partnership on Oct. 19.  Pray that this event will inspire renewed commitment to Christ’s mission in Mongolia and around the globe.

3)  Men’s Retreat, March 15-17, at Camp Luz, Kidron

4)  Valley View Mennonite, Spartansburg, Pa., Pastor Robb Esh

5)  Walnut Creek Mennonite, Walnut Creek, Pastor Don (Brenda) Hamsher

6)  Pray for Martine Audéoud, Mennonite Mission Network mission associate in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from Ohio Conference’s Gilead congregation.  She recently underwent emergency surgery to remove uterine cancer. Martine’s husband, Gary Wittig, invites us to pray for complete healing, good rest, and rapid recovery for Martine.

March 16-31, pray for:

1)  On March 19 Keith Hostetler, Ginny Cress, Tom Kauffman and Marion Beyeler will meet to discern how to review the 5-Year Plan of Conference staffing of which we are completing year two.  Pray that we will discover how best to evaluate where we are and where we are headed with our Conference staffing plan.

2)  Open Arms Hispanic Ministry, Raúl and Vanita Tadeo and Haroldo and Esmirna Nunes, Kidron

• Haroldo requests that we pray for the Lopez family. Brother Lopez needs a closer walk with Jesus. He told me that he has much courage and needs Jesus to work in his life.
• Pray for our Bible studies with the guys. May the Holy Spirit give us valor to be committed fathers and men with our children and with our wives!

3)  Pastor Larissa Moore, Church Planter with Lee Heights Community Church Solon

• Please hold us up in prayer for the following: ministry to impact community, location, wisdom, and for the Lord to build the house (congregation, leaders talents).

4)  Wayside Chapel, Pedro, Pastor John (Shanna) Kelly

5)  West Clinton Mennonite, Wauseon, Pastors Jess and Naomi Engle

6)  Chaplain Charles Gautsche, Fairlawn Retirement Center, Archbold

• As our population ages, more persons are experiencing death of their adult children. This presents a difficult grief situation especially when marriage companions are already deceased. Pray for wisdom for chaplains in bringing comfort to aged persons experiencing grief.

7)  Seventeen different Ohio Conference congregations support 15 mission worker families through Mennonite Mission Network.  Pray that these relationships can prove meaningful and that people from Ohio congregations may consider the call to long-term, cross-cultural service.

April 1-15, pray for:

1)  Spring Day of Inspiration for Women, April 6, at Salem Mennonite, Elida

2)  Church Renewal Institute:  Engaging the Community, April 13, Mansfield

• Pray that congregations would be inspired to reach their communities for Christ.

3)  Pastors’ Wives Retreat, April 12-14, Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center, Fremont

• Pray that this may be a time of fellowship and inspiration for the attendees.

4)  Chaplain Robert Halfhill, Majora Lane and Holmes County Home, Millersburg

5)  Wooster Mennonite, Pastor Jacob (Katie) Dodson

• Please pray for the congregation and leaders as they continue through a visioning process for the next three years.  Please also pray for continued growth in the church’s partnerships with other local ministries.

6)  Zion Mennonite, Archbold, Pastor Jeff (Jan) Kauffman

7)  Brazo en Brazo Hispanic Ministry, Paul and Ann Conrad, New Carlisle

• As you read this story, praise God:  Crispina was active with Brazo en Brazo in Lima and moved to Ft. Wayne for employment three years ago. She has been attending faithfully a Mennonite congregation in that area.  As we shared a meal, 4-year-old Bryan began singing a song he learned in Sunday school, thanking God for every blessing. Crispina is thankful for how the Brazo en Brazo Community embraced her in her time of need.

April 16-30, pray for:

1)  Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) Convention, Phoenix, Ariz., July 1-6, 2013, with the theme:  “Citizens of God’s Kingdom:  Healed in Hope”

• Pray that our convention will be a time of renewal and commitment to God’s reign in the world. — Ervin Stutzman, executive director of Mennonite Church USA

2)  Pastor Chet Miller-Eshleman, Church Planter, LifeBridge Community Church, Dover

• Pray that God will help us provide two meaningful worship services (10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each Sunday), and especially that through both we can reach people for Jesus.
• Pray for energy and encouragement for me, my family, the worship team, and those in children’s ministry.
• Pray that we grow, so that even next year, 2014, with God’s grace and provision, we can plant in New Philadelphia.
• Praise God for the encouraging growth in the church plant, LifeBridge Community North!

3) Ohio Conference churches, Pike and Sonnenberg relate to and support the Oyanguren family serving in the Chaco region of Argentina.  Bragado Mennonite Church (Argentine Mennonite Conference) also relates to the Oyanguren family.  Pray that a meaningful partnership may emerge among these partners in mission in the Argentine Chaco.

4)  Chaplain John Miller, Walnut Hills Retirement Community, Walnut Creek

5)  Chaplain Hector Velez, Disciples of Jesus Motorcycle Club, Archbold

6)  Sister Care Seminar, April 26-27, First Mennonite, Bluffton

7)  On April 30 the Transitional Pastors who serve in Ohio Conference gather for their quarterly meeting to share about their work and to support one another in this important ministry to congregations who are between permanent pastoral assignments.

8)  Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) is implementing a new partnership approach with MVS units and congregations launching independent service and discipleship units.  Please pray for MVS Director, Nathan Penner, for those currently serving in or considering a call to MVS, for Ohio Conference congregations interested in launching service and discipleship units, and for exchanges between all of them to be mutually beneficial.

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Compiled by Mattie Marie Mast, mmmast@zoominternet.net

Prayer Prompter can be found on the Ohio Conference website: www.ohiomennoniteconference.org.

Go to “Resource Teams” and select “Prayer Ministry.”