Interfaith has been very busy this year. The by-laws committee, chaired by Ellen Castor, took a long look at our current by-laws. It was determined that they were in serious need of updating, and we have done so. The link below is the current revision. Please download and read them through as we will be voting them into place at the next Annual Meeting, which will be held on January 27 at Temple Beth Sholom.

Bylaws Revision 2014

If this link not work, please email Ellen (ejocaster@yahoo.com) or Jim (mscoven@gmail.com) for a copy of the bylaws. We will be happy to email them to you.

Dear Friends,

My prayer for the last 19 years has been to listen for God’s voice and learn to recognize it. For the past several months, that small voice has been at work. I feel God is calling our country to prayer. If you are getting this email, then you and I have talked about prayer.

We have made a royal mess of things in our country and in the world. Someone asked me last fall how I thought we could get out of the mess. My answer: prayer. I wasn’t kidding.

I feel led to gather a small group together to pray for God’s wisdom and guidance for our country. The world is a pretty big mess right now. Can we pull together for prayer in his presence and simply ask God what our “assignment” is, individually and collectively? We’re not responsible for world peace…..that’s God’s job. Our job is to make sure we’re listening to and believing his voice and continually asking what our assignment is today. “Seek ye first” just might mean that we need to put our own agendas aside and simply ask God what he would have us do. Can we truly pray without an agenda, no matter how worthy or noble those agendas are?

Someone asked me what I expecting or hoping for out of this prayer. I don’t mean to be flippant, but that’s God’s job. The outcome is not on my list of things to worry about.

Someone asked me who I wanted to have at this prayer time. Same answer……..God will have who he wants there. Not my job to worry about that either. If you are able and feel led to join us, that’s great. If you feel led to invite someone, great!

This is not going to be publicized. It’s a quiet time for earnest prayer with a few people I have shared my hopes and concerns with. You are one of them.

Matthew 6:6 calls us to prayer and tells us to go into a closet and shut the door. That’s what we’ll do. There’s a small chapel at Countryside UMC where we can gather quietly.

There will be no singing, preaching, not even any coffee and cookies. This is just a time for knee-to-knee prayer, so to speak.

I am a Christian and pray in the name of Jesus. That should shock no one. If you call God by a different name, I hope you will join us and pray as you are accustomed….no one will be shocked either. We are all God’s children, brothers and sisters.

So, here’s the where and when:

Countryside UMC
3221 SW Burlingame Rd
Topeka, KS 66611
(785) 266-7541
March 26, 2009
10:00 am