More Than Gold - Prayer

I just spent an evening praying for More Than Gold (MTG). This is the Christian presence at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. It was a call to prayer for the staff and executive committee of MTG. MTG is a very diverse expression of the Christian faith, and this was reflected in our prayer experience. The prayer time began with the standard cell group/Bible study type spontaneous prayers of praise and intercession. Then the leader urged us raise our hands (if we were good with that) and give up to God whatever came to our hearts and minds. Then she asked us to pray as the Koreans pray (she had recently been at a Korean gathering for MTR). This Korean style was not different than what I would consider Pentecostal/charismatic prayer where everybody prays out loud at once. We prayed like this for a bit, and when things started quieting down, one in the group said that people and churches of the more liturgical tradition will give their prayers to God, ending each prayer with something like, "We lift our prayer to you," and then the whole group saying, "Lord hear our prayer." We carried on in this style for some time. We ended with praying with and for the person next to us.

The diversity of prayer traditions reflected the diversity of the church traditions participating in MTR. Even more, it reflected the willingness of the people to participate in each other's preferred styles. This diversity of church tradition and prayer style also brings diversity of ministry. It is very cool that MTR is doing: chaplaincy (the more direct outreach and spiritual ministry), radical hospitality, and social justice initiatives. Go to the website www.morethangold.ca to discover everything there is to know about this initiative. This coming weekend there are 2 training events and an opportunity to serve. You will be surprised as to how these folks from so many different traditions are taking the love of Jesus as their motivation and working together as one - without focusing on differences, in fact, actually taking interest in each others' unique priorities that they bring.

Go for it. Go to the website and just keep clicking on stuff to go deeper into what it's all about and how you can participate.