- First United Methodist Church on Shoreline Blvd is hosting the first-ever citywide Vote.Pray.Love prayer vigil all day on Election Day.
- Anyone and everyone is invited to come together at the church to pray during these times of stress and division during the election.
- People can come and go from the sanctuary as they please for individual prayer between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 5th.
The First United Methodist Church located at 900 S Shoreline Blvd in Corpus Christi is hosting its first-ever nondenominational, non-partisan, 'Vote.Pray.Love' prayer vigil on Election Day, Tues. Nov 5th. People can come and go to the church's sanctuary, as they please, throughout the day for individual prayer, with the purpose of reflecting on uniting as one during this political season.
“We encourage everybody to get out and exercise their right to vote. And also to be in prayer about it. We invite folks to come to our sanctuary to pray in this sacred space where it will be peaceful, and calm, and quiet, even while the world might be pretty stirred up around us," Pamela Dykehouse, First United Methodist Church Senior Pastor said.
One member of the congregation at First United Methodist Church, Bill Defries, came up with the idea to start 'Vote.Pray.Love.'
“I don’t know if they’re red, or they’re blue and which candidate they support — whether here locally or nationally. “Praying seemed to be the least partisan thing we could do in an ugly election season," Defries said.
Defries said he wanted to start a practice where neighbors can come together and unite during a time of division and tension among each other.
“Most of the time, we actually have more in common with each other than we have different. But that we have unfortunately highlighted, in the dialogue in this election season, the things where we have the strongest polarities," Pastor Dykehouse said.
'Vote.Pray.Love' is an opportunity for individual prayer, where people can stay at the sanctuary as little or as long as they'd like.
“You know, our city is named Corpus Christi, Body of Christ, and so we wanted to offer a space and a place for people to come together under that umbrella on Election Day," Pastor Dykehouse said.
Defries and Pastor Dykehouse plan to make it a tradition and continue it in the following years during stressful times.
“God doesn’t really care who we elect and whose side we’re on. There are no winners when we’re fighting about all those things," Defries said.
'Vote.Pray.Love' will be going on at First United Methodist Church from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, Tues. Nov. 5th. Members of the church congregation will be there volunteering to provide a peaceful environment, and to greet and welcome neighbors of all religious and political backgrounds.
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