"Sometimes an aging denomination works FOR you..."

We've been hearing about the rising average age of the UMC for a while now as part of a collection of pressing issues. But today, tongue firmly in cheek, I saw a positive result of this trend.

As a General Conference delegate, I've met a number of people who have expressed an interest and willingness to pray for me and the others on our delegation as we prepare for GC, which starts next week (next week... it really starts next week... oh, panic...).

On Tuesday the 8th, the North Texas delegation met together for the last time before we hit the ground in Fort Worth April 23. Like other meetings, that one was covered in prayer. And, this morning, under the same subject line as this blog entry's title, I received the following message from one of my pray-ers:

Dear Amy,

I had noted on my [Microsoft Outlook] calendar last week that I should be praying for you on Tuesday, but had a nagging feeling that Tuesday might have been, like, the start of something the delegation was doing...

Since I couldn't remember for sure, I just kept hitting "snooze" in Outlook and praying for you guys every two hours until Friday.

So I'm not sure I would have prayed for you guys as much, if I'd had a better memory - sorry! - but I give you what I have.

There you have it. In its finer moments, forgetfulness, whether or not you choose to attribute it to the aging process (and, for the record, I don't), can actually lead to more persistent prayer.

And, while I can't speak for every other delegate, I will certainly take all the prayerful support I can get.