In July, members of Eastern Hills Community Church took their prayers to the streets in Aurora, Colo.
“We just finished doing a year-long ‘love your neighbor’ campaign and wanted to go out and pray for our city,” said Kendal Hommes, senior high pastor of Eastern Hills. “We asked people to head out after the services. We didn’t serve coffee in the lobby or any of our normal stuff, just stripped off the lobby so they had nothing to do but leave and pray.”
Hundreds of church members went to different parts of the cities and sent in pictures or videos of where they were praying.
Pray The City landed on the date of an event that hit close to the hearts of the city and was a way for the church to reach out to the community.
“As [the event was] getting closer, we realized it coincided with the Aurora theatre shooting a year before,” Hommes said. “It kind of put another spin on it that way, that we still really need support, even a year later as people are remembering the victims and everyone surrounding that tragedy.”
Some people went into the task feeling uneasy about praying on a street corner. “One group said they were really uncomfortable going into it,” Hommes said. “They went in thinking it was going to be awkward just standing on a street corner. They felt challenged to do it, and after they did it, they felt like it was an amazing thing for their family and really brought them closer together.”
Hommes hopes even more people will participate next year.
About the Author
Estefania de León is the Banner’s regional news correspondent for classes Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone.
