Nuts, Raccoons, and Rubber Balls

We started out a little bit after 9:30 AM.  We shared a Scripture from Song of Solomon 3:2

I will rise now and go about the city,

in the streets and in the squares;

I will seek him whom my soul loves.

Reading as though the bride is the church and him whom her soul loves is the Christ, we started walking with the idea to see the Christ as we went about the streets.  The group, six of us again, naturally grouped into twos.  We walked slowly and stopped multiple times to pray for healing, health and well-being for the homes.  We discovered a church on the corner of 14th St. SW and N. Washington Ave.  We prayed for them and their ministries and prayed for the opportunity to share in the work of transformation and renewal.

The group was less familiar with these streets and houses.  What surprised me were the funny, quirky things along this walk. 

A stuffed raccoon that we were all convinced was still alive, a stash of squirrel nuts in a newspaper box,  a ball inside an abandoned lot enclosed by chain link; little reminders of life and personality.

 

In terms of theme, this walk seemed to be about closed doors, shuttered windows and empty front porches.  A slogan of the United Methodist Church is "Open hearts.  Open minds.  Open doors."  This group of walkers prayed a lot for doors and hearts to be opened, and we prayed that the people of this neighborhood could see that openness in the people of Grace United Methodist Church.  One walker said, "Sometimes, we have to be the ones to drop by the neighbors' and say 'hello.'"  Hopefully, prayer walking feels like dropping by the neighbors' and saying hello.


View Grace UMC walk 3 in a larger map