NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYERThe Reconciled Church Movement: Diverse ChristianLeaders Pray For Justice and Peace |
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| TheReconciledChurch.org | |
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BALTIMORE – May 6, 2015 – On the heels of Baltimore-sparked protests nationwide and on the eve of the 64th National Day of Prayer, black, white and brown Christian leaders from The Reconciled Church movement call for prayer to address injustice and bring peace. “The recent adversities in our nation have played out on the streets of our cities as a clarion call for churches to amass in prayer and public engagement,” said Bishop T.D. Jakes, a founder of The Reconciled Church. “We should lead the way for justice and peace, affording one without dismissing the other.” Founded in January following rising unrest around deaths in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City, The Reconciled Church movement unites Christian leaders from across denominational, racial, political, gender and generational lines. The movement pursues racial healing and reconciliation across Seven “On this 64th National Day of Prayer, the theme of which is ‘Lord, hear our cry,’ from 1 Kings 8:28, we call for every Christian to cry out for restorative justice in America in three specific ways,” said Bishop Harry Jackson, a movement founder and senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C., area. Three Prayer Specifics:
Bishop Jackson, with Bishop Jakes and evangelist James Robison, assembled the first meeting of Christian leaders—including Bernice King and Andrew Young—in Dallas this January. Prayers and discussion led to action steps through the Bridges to Peace. The Reconciled Church movement was prominent in a citywide church service and other meetings in Montgomery, Ala. marking the 50th anniversary of the Selma March, and most recently in Orlando FL where 250 faith leaders gathered to pray and further explore successful faith-based criminal justice and community outreach programs. Focusing on things Christian leaders from a wide array of denominations and backgrounds can agree on, they also committed to pray. “As we join together in prayer, may we seek to become an answer to the prayer of Jesus in John 17. First, He prayed that we become one with the Father as He is. In the final part of His prayer, he emphasized the importance of being perfected in a supernatural unity perhaps seldom witnessed throughout human history,” said Robison, one of the founders of The Reconciled Church. “With all of our diversity, we can come together as one.” The National Day of Prayer is an invitation to people of all faiths to pray for the nation and is held annually on the first Thursday of May. With a 2015 theme of “Lord . . hear our cry,” the National Day of Prayer is an appropriate opportunity for Christians to come together in prayer for racial reconciliation. “We are living in days of hopelessness, and our nation is facing a crisis deeply rooted in brokenness, bitterness and pain,” said Bishop Dr. Ángel L. Núñez, president of the Multi-Cultural Prayer Movement and a member of The Reconciled Church movement. “The church must rise up, not only in prayer, but in action. Let us rise up, in His name, and with one voice serve and love those who are hurting and broken.” The Reconciled Church advocates church action to promote national healing through its Seven Bridges to Peace:
“Government can never heal history’s wounds, nor will its good-intentioned laws and programs. The insensitive ‘get over it’ crowd only offends, rubbing salt in an already painful wound, while the unhealed spokespersons of the wounded also perpetuate the cycle—neither providing the answer,” said author and speaker Dutch Sheets. “God’s answer is the church. Through humility, repentance, prayer, God’s love and forgiveness, we can heal history’s timeline.” To learn more, visit: TheReconciledChurch.org |
