2022: Day 9, Prayer Walking

Most days at the Center begin with a time of worship. Nathan or another leader takes us through a time of singing and reflection on a passage of scripture. Today was no different. We sang seven or eight songs and meditated on the holiness of God as depicted in Isaiah 6. We were eager to continue singing, so when we had a few spare minutes during an intermission, several of our group used their voices, a guitar, a ukulele, and a piano to use to make music.

Most of the morning was given to times of teaching. Two brothers who are friends of the Center and who are actively working in ministry in Brooklyn came to offer teaching. They gave a sobering talk about the ways that many Christians have oppressed people of certain ethnicities. They offered another class about the ways some in New York City experience marginalization today.

After lunch, they gave a final class about prayer walking. Following this class, we traveled to Brooklyn. The brothers marked out maps and sent us in pairs to walk on the sidewalks, praying to God for the people around us. We were encouraged to take opportunities to communicate with people cross-culturally. Several of the groups were able to have meaningful interactions with people they encountered.

After we regrouped, we took a subway and a bus to Little Istanbul Restaurant, a small establishment with delicious gyros, baklava, soups, and coffee.

The train ride home was a long, slow process. Part way through, the train broke down, so we spent some time sitting motionless. Though our eventual return to the Center was very late, Monica kindly greeted us with a luscious snack of nachos, a good end to a good day.