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News By Tom Gillem (NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 7, 2009/GBOD) — Two teams of young people will be going out this fall generating support for Pray With Africa, a new Upper Room Ministries initiative to build a worldwide community of faith, hope, and prayer in support of African Christian groups who serve the poor, sick, and hungry.
"Instead of rushing to action -- seeing an infomercial where there's a hungry child and a celebrity spokesperson urging us to react -- we're trying to build community first," Graham says. "We're going to college campuses, churches and small venues, showing the film and asking people to adopt our 'Learn. Pray. Act.' philosophy -- this new way of looking at and helping Africa," Graham says. "And we're providing ways to live out that philosophy." Two teams of volunteers, ages 18-27, will visit more than 30 cities to present and discuss Pray With Africa's goals and to screen Listen: A New African Narrative, a film that shows more than the typical images of Africa -- not just the warring, pain and suffering, but specific ways Africans work daily to change their communities. The 38-minute film follows individuals in five African nations who, with prayerful hearts and an undying faith in God, are making a difference in their own communities, Graham says. In Liberia, Christians dig wells to rebuild the clean water supply; in Mali, they help combat malnutrition; in Uganda, they work with people trying to overcome the ravages of conflict; in South Africa, they try to recover from systematic poverty brought about by decades of apartheid, and in Malawi, they provide love and care to people with HIV/AIDS. From September to November, one team will travel to cities in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Ohio; while the other team goes to North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. A specific list of cities the teams will visit and opportunities to schedule a viewing of the film are available at the Pray With Africa website, www.PrayWithAfrica.com. The website will feature a different prayer from Africa each day and ways to get involved with ministries on the ground in Africa. Graham says he hopes the site will foster an interactive prayer community where people around the world will connect through the discipline of prayer.
One of the first examples of how we are building community is our partnership with an HIV/AIDS support group in the Tiwasunge community in Malawi, which is featured in the film. The Tiwasunge community is producing wooden prayer rings, which will be sold online and on the tour, Graham says. The word Tipemphere, which means "let us pray" in Chichewa, will be inscribed on each ring. People who get a ring will be able to register them online using a unique serial number on the inside of each ring. "You are then encouraged to pass the prayer ring to someone else and encourage him or her to register the ring as well," Graham says. "You will be able to track where your ring goes through the website. It will be an amazing way to watch this symbol of prayer travel around the world." For more information about Pray With Africa, contact Graham by phone at 615-340-1767 or by e-mail at cgraham@GBOD.org. The General Board of Discipleship's mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD (www.gbod.org) is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at 877-899-2780, ext. 7017.
*Tom Gillem is a freelance writer for GBOD.
News Media Contact: Steve Horswill-Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 340-1726 or shorswill-johnston@gbod.org.
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