The Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns
Declares a Day of Prayer, a Time to Help, and Emergency Relief Sunday, November 2, 2008

The Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is asking all CME churches to declare Sunday, November 2, 2008 a day of fasting and prayer for our nation and world. We need to pray because of the following reasons:

• a historic Presidential Election
  
• the need to help our brothers and sisters who were impacted by Hurricane Ike
  
• the economic down turn in our nation
  
• the educational system’s failure to meet the needs of our children
  
• the foreclosure crisis
  
• clergy and lay leadership development in the church
  
• the health care crisis in our nation.
  

We believe that this is a time to cry out to the God of our Salvation to protect us, direct us, provide for us, and to prosper us in difficult times. II Chronicles 7:14 really tells us the position that the church must take in these perilous times “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” This scripture should be our Altar Call on Sunday, November 2, 2008 as we share in Holy Communion.

On Sunday, November 2, 2008, we would like to have every CME Church to take up a special offering for the Emergency Relief Fund of our church to address the needs of CMEs and others impacted by Hurricane Ike. A good number of our churches and their properties were lost, damaged or destroyed. In Haiti, more than 1,000 lives were lost. Many of our CME Churches in Texas in the path of Hurricane Ike were severely damaged.

Please make all checks payable to the Department of Finance CME Church and send them to your Presiding Bishop’s office. I truly believe that God will continue to bless and direct our nation if we pray and seek His Divine Will for our world.

Let’s all remind our congregations and community to Get Out and Vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.