PRAYER PATROL TO MEET PRAYER PARTNERS

Participants in the prayer patrol at La Croix United Methodist Church have lived through tragedies, rejoiced in good news and learned the value of prayer.

More than 140 children have been praying for police, firefighters, emergency personnel and the mayor during the Lenten season as part of a ministry program sponsored by the church.

At noon Sunday, the children and their prayer partners will meet at the conclusion of worship services at the church. Special events and a party are planned for the participants, who include more than 75 law enforcement and health care officials.

The program has helped teach the importance of prayer and has worked as an outreach ministry of the church, said organizer Marsha Edwards.

And lessons in prayer were taught firsthand among the families of two police officers shot in the line of duty in February. "Three months after the shooting, it's brought it to everyone's attention that it's not what could happen but about what does happen," Edwards said.

It's been especially important for many people to realize that they should be continually praying for police and law enforcement officials, she said.

The children enrolled in the program have been paired with a partner, one per family. Some of the children requested the name of the person they prayed for last year because they'd already developed a relationship, Edwards said.

There have been more children enrolled and more people interested in serving as prayer partners than in years past, she said.

"Many of the people have become active in the church. It brings the church to the unchurched" whatever their situation or circumstance, she said.