Although it is traditional to pray while kneeling down, the community is invited to pray while walking around next Sunday. A School Prayer Walk will be held following the regular Fifth Sunday Community Service at Young Memorial United Methodist Church.
Refreshments will be served following the worship service, then the crowd will divide up and go to schools to walk around the campuses and pray, according to Liza Marler, associate pastor of First United Methodist Church.
"We just feel like we want to surround our schools, and our students in particular, with prayer," Rev. Marler said. "And this is a great way for the community to come together and support one another."
Several churches come together every fifth Sunday for a service, rotating their meeting location, according to Rev. Marler. The service will begin at 6 p.m., Sunday, July 30 at Young Memorial.
"It's a whole lot cooler at 7:30 at night than it would be at four in the afternoon," Rev. Marler said with a laugh. "So we're kind of capitalizing on (the fifth Sunday service)."
Attendance at the fifth Sunday service varies from 40 to 100, and Rev. Marler said all denominations participate.
"We all believe in God, and we all believe in Christ, so it's a great way for us to do this together," she said.
The School Prayer Walk falls on the evening before the first day of school. Rev. Marler said participants will walk around the school buildings and pray "for the administration, for the students, for the teachers, for the parents, for the sports program, for everything basically."
Young Memorial UMC is located at 1711 Washington Road. For more information, call Rev. Marler at Thomson First UMC, 706-595-3936.
