Para Español: www.coker.org/caminatasdeoracion
Welcome to Coker United Methodist Church. We invite you on to campus Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, or Saturdays (Sunrise to Sunset) to do prayer walks. A few notes: Please only congregate with your immediate family, wear masks when passing others on the path, and adhere to the 6′ social distancing rules. There are two walking options, and five points of prayer listed below:
Long Walk- A little over 3/4 of a Mile
Prayer Stops:
1. (Start) Sanctuary
2. Prayer Garden
3. Health & Wellness Center
4. Coker Park
Turn Around…
5. Coker Cemetery
Short Walk- 1/4 of a Mile
Prayer Stops:
1. (Start) Sanctuary
2. Prayer Garden
3. Health & Wellness Center
4 & 5. Coker Cemetery
1. Sanctuary: Gracious Lord, I stand here at the place where we gather to worship you. This is holy ground to us, a building created by human hands but sanctified by yours. We give you thanks for being present with us when we come together here. Lord, add your blessings to those who lead our worship and all those who participate in worship. Keep them safe, allow your word to change their lives to become better disciples for you to reach the world around us. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen
2. Prayer Garden: Heavenly Father, your word says that when we pray, you draw close to us, to listen to our joys and our concerns. We can pray anywhere at any time and you will hear. But this place is set aside for this one purpose. Please add your blessings to this prayer garden that it provides your children with a serenity and calmness, shoving all distractions out of the way, so that we may focus our prayers toward you. May your Spirit intercede for us with words that human beings cannot speak. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
3. Health & Wellness Center: Healing Lord, throughout your word we see examples of the power of your hand of healing. Those with physical infirmities, those with emotional challenges, those engaged in spiritual warfare. Your healing covers all ways in which the world attacks us. This place was designed to bring your healing power to those who seek you for healing, whether physical, financial, spiritual or emotional. May the power of your Holy Spirit continue to work through the volunteers and staff who sacrifice their time and energy for the benefit of others. Through it all, may your Name, be honored and the glory be all yours. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
4. Coker Park: O Lord, you have promised that your word will be a guide to our lives and a light that shines upon our path. Sometimes that path is clear, other times it seems cloudy. Sometimes the path appears straight while other times it turns and curves, like a labyrinth. The location of the path and its shape make no difference. Your light is still there, the path is still before us and if we watch and follow, we will never become lost. As disciples walk this path, hear their prayers. Remind them that your will is not a maze in which we become lost, but a defined road that leads to life everlasting. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
5. Cemetery: Lord of Life, this Coker Cemetery is filled with graves, but the graves are empty. Just as you rose from the dead, you opened the way for those whose names are etched on these stones to rise with you and enjoy everlasting life in your heaven. May this special place be a reminder, not only of the life these disciples lived here, but also a promise that death is not an end, but merely a doorway to the life that can never end. By the power of your resurrection, grant them everlasting peace and perfection. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Fun Facts
Crossing the Jordan River was a key event in Israel’s history. Passing through the Jordan into the Promised Land, transformed Israel from wandering into an established nation. As soon as the priests waded in with the ark, the water stopped flowing and piled in a heap, 20 miles north near the village of Adam. It was also cut off to the south. While the priests waited with the ark in the middle of the river, the entire nation crossed over on dry ground. While the entire nation did not walk 20 miles to cross, it would be fun to walk 20 miles over the next couple of months in honor of moving from a season of wandering, into the land of new beginnings. (Read Joshua 1-4).