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Luther Seminary, 2009-2010 Academic Year "Seek the peace of the city ... for in its well-being you shall find your own." Jeremiah 29:7 VisionTo bring together a community of believers who engage in intentional
prayer for the shalom of our city, we are hosting the first series of
Pray &
Break Bread: Twin Cites.
Over the course of the year, we will travel back and forth, alternating between Minneapolis and St. Paul. These events are open to anyone interested in praying for the Twin Cities and enjoying the good food we are fortunate to have here. The Back StoryDuring Professor Chris Scharen's first year on the faculty (2008-2009) Luther both discontinued its urban ministry program AND deepened a process of reaching out to new immigrant congregations in the Twin Cities. The core mission-oriented focus of Luther Seminary seemed to him to cry out for intentionally outreach to learn what God is doing in and through churches in the Twin Cities, to pray for them and share in community around meals with them. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with the surrounding areas, represents a remarkable intersection of urban ministry and global Christianity, an intersection key to understanding Christianity in the 21st century. The PBB model of relational urban ministry comes from City Seminary in New York, which Prof. Scharen serves as a board member. How We Do "PBB"
How do we "prayer walk"? We do not prescribe any particular method of "prayer walking". We do encourage that you go in small groups of no more than 3-4 people and spend time walking through the neighborhood; seeing, listening and observing for yourself the life of the community. If you feel comfortable, you can pray aloud as you walk with a partner or in your small group, or you can pray in silence. You can stop in front of a particular location (school, hospital, or religious institution) and pray for the people associated with that place. Or you can ask people you meet if they would like you to pray specifically for them. This is up to you. The important thing is that you are physically out there – getting to know the neighborhood, people and places we visit to – in order to pray concretely for what God is doing in Christ through the Spirit in bringing shalom to this community. Following our prayer walk, we have an opportunity to sample the local cuisine. We meet together for a time of fellowship and reflection over a meal in a nearby restaurant or at the host location. During the meal, we share about our experiences. Tentative Schedule for 2009-2010
Core TeamFor 2009-2010, PBB has a core leadership team consisting of Luther Seminary M.Div. students, Joanna Flaten and Jeanette Clark, and Professor Christian Scharen. We hope to add to the core team a few more students, staff and faculty who commit to attending all the visits, but we expect that the month-to-month group will change substantially, and average 10-20 people. We are building a webpage within Luthersem.edu, including a blog for core team members to write about the visits each month. |
In nine neighborhoods this year, starting with
Luther's own St. Anthony Park neighborhood, we will come together to read
and meditate on Scripture, pray and walk the streets of our cities, and then
join together in a community meal to reflect on our experience, celebrate
what God is already doing, and look forward to what God will do to restore
and bring peace to the city.
Before we head out into the neighborhood, we spend time meditating and
reflecting on a particular passage of Scripture. This helps to ground our
discussion of local community concerns in terms of God's heart for the city
and the real hope present in the on-going work of reconciliation in Christ
through the Spirit. Our host gives background information on the
congregation and neighborhood and offers specific local prayer concerns. We
pray together as a large group before dividing up for the prayer walk.