Prayer brunch program

Many Baptist churches have a multipurpose room or church hall with an adjoining kitchen. If space allows, hold the breakfast in your church's facilities. For larger gatherings, look for a restaurant with a separate, enclosed dining room or a local conference center. Hotel meeting rooms are another option that will work well for a prayer breakfast. Secure a guest speaker for your prayer breakfast. Consider women like your pastor's wife who has several years of ministry under her belt, a motivational speaker whose beliefs coincide with those of the Baptist church or an author of inspirational books that are popular in Baptist circles.

Book your speaker as far in advance as possible. Plan your prayer breakfast menu. Choose whether to have a catered affair or an old-fashioned potluck. Baptist women are often known for the cooking skills that they have developed over the years of preparing covered dishes for church functions, needy families and the bereaved.

You'll likely receive a wide variety of tasty breakfast dishes when you choose a potluck meal. Clark said the program will focus on members of the Oklahoma City metro-area Jewish faith community who had family members who either did or did not survive the Holocaust.

She said the program continues to be important for many reasons. We have a responsibility to be a witness since they are no longer here," Clark said.

Clark said the Holocaust Remembrance program that was canceled was to feature the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. I think none of us had a clue at the impact and how deep the pandemic could be," Clark said.

The April 25 program is free to attend, but preregistration is required. Limited in-person socially distanced seats will be available at Myriad Botanical Gardens Water Stage and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The registration page allows each guest to choose whether they would like to attend in-person or virtually. In-person guests will need to bring their Eventbrite ticket, along with a photo ID, for admittance to the program; mask wearing will be required.

If using prayer stations, make sure that they are spread widely enough around the room to avoid crowding and also allow enough time for all to visit each station in whatever order they choose. During a prayer breakfast you can also choose to do an activity. These can either be done in a group at each table or used as a prayer station. Disappearing paper confession or request. You can purchase dissolving paper online and use it for people to write confessions, let go of fears and burdens, ask for forgiveness or write a request.

When we used this at a prayer event, we used a large glass punch bowl and placed it onto a glass top table with a light shining up through the glass and illuminating the bowl.

We ordered dissolving paper on the internet. Yes, this really exists for top secret communications! Since each sheet was a bit expensive, we cut it into squares about the size of index cards and provided pens on which people could write their prayers.

The paper dissolves right away as you watch. The water will turn murky after the first few papers have dissolved. Pill box of blessing. During your prayer breakfast you could make items to send or give to those you are supporting in prayer. For more on this idea see Prayer pill box idea. You can collect and pray over these requests in a variety. One idea is as follows. If your guests are seated at tables, provide a clear bowl on each table into which individuals might deposit their requests.

Paper chain prayer. Strips of paper can be provided onto which short requests, praises or prayers can be written. After each prayer is written, it is stapled together as a link to a chain in which all requests are collected. Or a short letter can be written addressed to a specific person and different people can each write a short prayer on it for the person.

Prayer blankets. Many churches have prayer blanket ministries where blankets or shawls are given to comfort and reassure those going through a crisis. The group can pray collectively or individually over the blankets and those who will receive them. Post-it prayers. Prayers can be written on post-it notes and then attached to doorways, walls or gifts.

Prayer scroll or banner. A large sheet of paper can be placed in the room onto which everyone writes a prayer. The banner or scroll can later be hung so others can see it. Speakers and Music. Some prayer breakfasts include a special speaker.

The speaker can be a well-known person who has an inspirational message, the leader of the organization putting on the event, an author, a prayer leader who shares a teaching about prayer, someone with a strong testimony concerning prayer, a community leader, a sports figure, a missionary or a member of the clergy. The speaker can have an educational purpose, such as telling about the history, mission, community needs, accomplishments and vision of the sponsoring organization.

Not all prayer breakfasts need a speaker. If you have a limited amount of time, you may elect not to include a speaker so you can focus on quality prayer time. You can also offer a short devotional thought, video or a Scripture reading in place of a speaker.

Music is another optional feature of a prayer breakfast. In some cases you may not need any music or may only need background music during silent prayer for which you can use a recording. If you opt for music, you might invite a musician, soloist or small group to present a prayerful song.

Another idea is to have a song leader lead the group in praise time. Locations, days and times. Depending on the type and the size of the group, prayer breakfasts can be held in homes, church fellowship halls, restaurant private room, banquet facilities, work conference rooms or school cafeterias.

The day you hold your prayer breakfast will depend on the type of people who will be attending. If your group consists of people who are employed or in school, an early time on a weekday morning that will allow people to get to work or school on time. On this schedule, the prayer breakfast would need to be of short duration and the food process needs to be fast and efficient. If you have a group of retirees or stay at home parents, you might plan a prayer breakfast on a weekday morning after rush hour or after children are off to school.

Food: The food for a prayer breakfast can vary from minimal to a fully plated breakfast, depending on your budget, the number of volunteers you have, the occasion and the time available.

When publicizing your event, make sure to spell out which of the following breakfast types you will be serving and also the cost so that people can know what to expect. Here are food options starting with the most basic. Buying breakfast sandwiches at a fast food restaurant is the easiest food option for an informal prayer breakfast. It requires the least cost and volunteers.

Each attendee simply puts a dollar in the basket for their breakfast. Instead you can gather around in rows or circles of chairs while eating. This cuts down on room set up, prep work and cleanup.