Prayer Team
Here at Trinity, we are always happy to pray for you. Whatever the need, large or small, we see it as a privilege and a blessing to offer it up to God. In the Episcopal Church, we are also a tradition where prayers are offered for those who have died and their families. Because we are aware that different needs may require different levels of discretion and privacy, we maintain three different lists for the prayer requests that come our way. Depending on the need, the following are available:
1) Fr. Bill’s private prayer list. At a minimum, this means that he will pray for the needs you name daily for a month, and weekly for at least six months after that. He will also remember you privately at the Altar on Sundays and other occasions where the Holy Eucharist is celebrated. Here, you can be as specific as you need to be and he will keep it confidential. Fr. also makes it a practice to pray through the directory on a regular basis for all active members of Trinity, whether they ask for prayers or not.
2) Semi-private prayer team(s). Fr. Bill intends to assemble a team (or several such teams) of spiritually mature Christians to offer up prayers on a regular basis. These prayers may be incredibly specific, by name only, or even by first name, where some degree of anonymity is desired. Each team will have it’s own leader, and members will agree not to share anything they learn beyond the group. If appropriate, he may also ask you if you wish to submit your request to the Daughters of the King, who maintain their own list and may also be contacted directly.
3) Trinity’s public prayer list. This is list is fully public, printed in the bulletin on Sunday. It does not include anything beyond the names (or first names) of those who have asked for prayer. Occasionally, at Fr. Bill’s discretion, requests for natural disasters and traumatic events may also be included. The Prayers of the People routinely include prayers for the needs of the church, the world, those in need, etc. as well. This list resets quarterly, though people may request to be left on it, as there is need.
The best way to submit a name for any of these lists is to contact Fr. Bill directly and let him know who you’d like us to pray for, which list or lists they should be on, the reason(s) they are in need of prayer (not shared on the public prayer list), and what their connection is to you. For the more public lists, it is also necessary to ensure in advance that the people involved don’t mind being prayed by multiple people.