WHEN the executive of Kelowna Evangelical Ministerial Association (KEMA) got together to discuss local participation in the Global Day of Prayer (GDOP) this year, they set aside the idea of repeating the large scale organization of the past two years.

But the leadership at The Bridge Community Church decided to go ahead with a single-church, scaled down event – and they are glad they did.

The Bridge’s pastor, Mark Gordon, who modestly notes he has a “passion for prayer,” felt uneasy about the decision not to go ahead with the GDOP Kelowna plans.

So, with the encouragement of KEMA president Kim Unrau, he planned a Mother’s Day evening prayer and worship event which made use of many of the GDOP materials.

About 60 people turned out – and, Gordon says, “it was a warm, deep and joyous occasion … recognizing that we were joining 200 – 300 million people around the world, praying together.”

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The Bridge, he adds, will be encouraging other Kelowna churches, among them the City Church Intercessors (CCI), to reignite the prayer event next year.

The CCI, whose efforts have been born of personal and spiritual relationships built up among a dozen or so pastors, is growing in strength in Kelowna, Gordon says.

The larger GDOP was cancelled for two reasons: the large scale activities of Missions Now, which drew extensive participation from many Kelowna churches; and the fact that GDOP was slotted in on Mother’s Day.

“At The  Bridge, we did not want our mothers to think that we were not praying for them,” Gordon quips.

On a more serious note, he acknowledged that the early Easter and other scheduling challenges created a logistical challenge for Kelowna churches, in planning things the way they have usually worked out the last few years.

– Lloyd Mackey

June 2008