GROUP PLANS GATHERINGS FOR PRAYER

Hoping to better the well-being of the community, a group of area Christians will begin gathering for a prayer service at noon once a month.

The first service will be at noon Tuesday at Livingway Foursquare Church, 1222 Bloomfield Road. Other meetings will be scheduled around town later.

The purpose of the meetings, which will last from noon to 1 p.m., will be to fast and pray for churches and community.

"We want to provide a place for Christian leaders and pray-ers to come together from various Christian churches and agree together in prayer," said Mike Woelk, pastor of Livingway Church.

Increasingly, Christian leaders are seeing their responsibility to be praying for their community not just their congregation, he said. "God answers prayer, and in a sense he gives his church responsibility for the well-being of the community."

So far, nine churches have given a positive response to the idea, but a full schedule has yet to be developed, said Sherri Mehner, an organizer.

Mehner also works to organize community events during the first week of May and the National Day of Prayer services.

Kim Ferguson, pastor of Cornerstone Church, said prayer will have a positive effect on the community. "I think it is a positive step for church unity and positive for community relations and for making sure we are all still focused on Cape Girardeau and the spiritual needs of our city."

Format for the services will be informal and relaxed to accommodate people having to come late or leave early because of work, Mehner said.

"We will be moving around town, and our hope is that we will get inside other churches and be blessed by the pastors," she said. The idea is to "have lunch with the Lord" and join together to pray for the community.

At each service, a prayer focus sheet will be distributed listing needs and at the bottom of the sheet, the next month's service location will be announced.

Mehner expects the group to grow by word of mouth and through announcements at local churches.

Judging by past experience with Mehner, Woelk said he expects the group to grow by fall. Because of Mehner's work, "a big portion of the city prays for a week" around the National Day of Prayer, he said.