HERE’s the 2009 Resource Page for the model we’re unfolding in Michigan.
It’s so easy to remember. The simple Web address is: www.LiftDetroitInPrayer.com
Of course, wherever you live in the world, you can join us in this effort—focused on your own core community.
But, our experience in Detroit is mighty impressive! In 2008, 1,000 people braved stormy skies to gather along the historic Detroit River for the first annual Lift Your City in Prayer day. Here’s a story from the fall of 2008 describing that high-spirited day!
.PROMINENT LINK TO THE RESOURCE PAGE
AND TO 2008 STORY … WANT TO QUICKLY GET PEOPLE THERE …
ALSO FOCUS THEM ON OURVALUES WITH LYNNE SCHREIBER …
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People from many religious and cultural backgrounds will gather in Detroit’s New Center area at 11 a.m. Saturday September 12, 2009, for the second annual “Lift Detroit in Prayer.” The main online resources are at http://www.LiftDetroitInPrayer.com ONE CITY’S MODEL THAT MAY HELP YOU PLAN YOUR OWN …
In 2008, Detroit modeled this effort through coverage in https://readthespirit.com—an online magazine co-founded by former Detroit Free Press Religion Writer David Crumm. The online magazine worked with a diverse array of metro-Detroit congregations and individual men and women who agreed to spend three weeks praying daily for Detroit. (In other parts of America, people lifted up their own cities.)
This idea of “prayer” is as broad as the participants. For some, it’s merely a sincere and private wish for Detroit’s future—expressed once a day. For others, it’s a specific prayer they may voice or write down to repeat each day. Nationwide polls find that 9 out of 10 Americans say they pray, so it’s a nearly universal human expression. This “prayer” for Detroit can be as simple as saying, each day, “I lift Detroit in prayer.” Period.
We encourage people to adapt the basic prayer—or write your own prayer. The whole point is to form a sustained focus of prayer, inviting thousands of people to prayerfully focus on uplifting our major urban areas. Among the goals of this effort are reducing stress, unlocking creative energy and generating ideas for making a real difference in our communities.
In Detroit in 2008, for example, a major Muslim leader in Michigan, Victor Begg, came and joined in the prayers as well. There were people from a whole array of religious groups on hand. So, feel free to adapt this idea in your own form of prayer or meditation—Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist or whatever it might be. Even if you’re a secularist, you might feel comfortable simply joining with others in a time of reflection on your city’s future.
