UMW Prayer Chain

The History of the Prayer Chain

During the Lenten season of 1955 the East Metro District of the Woman's Society of Christian Service (WSCS, now the UMW) held a "Day Apart for Prayer". At the time, Ilene Rice was president of the WSCS and was asked to speak on intercessory prayer. As part of her presentation she recited the poem "Someone Had Prayed" by Grace Nall Crowell. Later that day she heard from several women from various churches about their prayer chains and how meaningful they were to their church life. A prayer chain was established by Norma Buchman with our WSCS women. With the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the WSCS became the United Methodist Women or UMW.

In recent years Ruth Johnson has loyally served as "initiator" of the prayer chain. This year Joyce Markham is serving as the coordinator. Women volunteer to participate in the prayer chain through their circles. The requests come through our pastors or go directly to Joyce, in which case she will inform the pastors. Joyce calls the first person on each circle's list, who in turn calls the next one, and so on. Also, this year Joyce is initiating an internet prayer chain. You can sign up through Joyce by phone, 651.489.7381, or e-mail joycemarkham@hotmail.com to receive prayer request information. It is not necessary to be a member of UMW to participate in the prayer chain.

The value to recipients of prayer is immeasurable. As one person stated, "It is as if a warm blanket has been placed around me".

For more information:

Coordinator: Joyce Markham
Telephone: 651.489.7381
E-mail: joycemarkham@hotmail.com