Come Run With Me... Again

This blogpost is almost a repeat of the one I wrote exactly a year ago: Come Run With Me. Hence the title.

 On Sunday, August 16, I will again be running the 49K Ultra Marathon of the Big Wild Life Runs here in Anchorage. And just like last year, my plan is to do it again as a prayer run.

 Because the distance I will be running (49 kilometers) is equivalent to 30.44860 miles and there are 28 United Methodist Churches under my care as Superintendent of the Alaska United Methodist Conference, I will be dedicating a mile for each of these churches. As I run each mile, I will prayerfully hold the church assigned to that mile, their pastor/s, lay people, missions and ministries. The remainder I will dedicate to conference-related ministries.

 Last year I found this especially helpful for me as a rookie Superintendent to mentally wrap my mind and spirit around the task before me. The prayer run helped me spiritually "walk" or "run" through the different ministry settings to prepare me for the season of Charge Conferences, consultations and appointments that came soon after. My goal is to stay healthy and fit enough to do this every year during my tenure as Superintendent.

 So I am doing it again. And this time around, I feel that I have a deeper knowledge of each of our ministry contexts and their specific needs having visited all but one setting at least once during the past appointive year.

 Here's a mile-by-mile breakdown of my prayer run:
I invite you to run the race with me again. No, I am not asking you to physically run 30+ miles (unless you're up to it, of course. I'd definitely love the company). What I'm asking you to do is to join me in praying for the different ministry settings of the Alaska United Methodist Conference on Sunday. I invite you to pick a church (or two) from the list and promise to set aside time to hold these ministries in prayer. Each church name above is a live link to their website or Facebook page to give you more information about them.

On race day, I may average anywhere from 10-12 minutes per mile. Can I ask you for 10-12 minutes of your time on Sunday to pray for a church in the AUMC? Or perhaps your are a fellow runner or perhaps a walker, a swimmer or a biker. Can I ask you to find time on Sunday to run, walk, swim or bike a mile as you pray for the church you pick?

Will you come run (and pray) with me again?

 Your fellow disciple,
Carlo

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