Red Mesa Churches Hold Prayer Summit

Church leaders and members, many of them Native American, from across Classis Red Mesa gathered at Maranatha Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in Farmington, N.M., last weekend to worship and pray together.

The theme of the prayer summit was “Standing United in Prayer to Reveal Christ.” Keynote speakers were Rev. Lora Copley from Gallup, N.M., Rev. Bobby Boyd from Church Rock, N.M., and Rev. Stanley Jim, the Native American ethnic leader with Christian Reformed Home Missions.

Rev. Susan LaClear, the pastor of Maranatha Fellowship CRC, was the worship leader.

In addition to the main sessions, the summit featured workshops on a variety of prayer-related topics and a dawn prayer session on Saturday.

The summit also featured a tribute to the life and ministry of Rev. Ray Slim, a long-time Native American leader in the Christian Reformed Church who died in August after being hit by a pickup truck as he was leaving a store in Farmington.

The group heard that Slim, who was described as “a powerful prayer warrior,” had helped to lay the groundwork for this prayer summit. Slim’s wife, Carol, attended the summit, together with a daughter and granddaughter.

The prayer summit was the second to be held in Red Mesa in the wake of the CRC’s first-ever denominational prayer summit in 2012. The previous summit was held in 2013 in Rehoboth, N.M., in the southern part of the classis.

Jim explained that this one was held in Farmington so that people living in the northern portion of the classis could more easily participate.

Also last weekend, prayer coordinators John and Linda Parsons led a Prayer Gathering for Classis Lake Superior.

Meanwhile, Classis Grand Rapids North is hosting a prayer summit on Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 6-9:30 pm at Riverside CRC.

And the East Coast Region of Christian Reformed Home Missions is hosting a prayer summit on Nov. 6-7.