Here is the press release for PRAYERS FOR MY CITY: A Fixed-Hour Prayer Guide for Grand Rapids that dropped today. I realize I’ve been posting on nothing but this lately—that will change next week now that my thesis is over with!—but I’m passionate about practicing with the Church, particularly praying with the Church, and think it’s something that the Church of Grand Rapids needs to recapture. Enjoy!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUTHOR, PASTOR-THEOLOGIAN TO RELEASE A HYPERLOCAL PRAYER BOOK
FOR GRAND RAPIDS’ “YEAR OF INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING”Local author and pastor-theologian, Jeremy Bouma, will release an ecumenical Christian prayer book this month, PRAYERS FOR MY CITY: A Fixed-Hour Prayer Guide For Grand Rapids, to coincide with the City of Grand Rapids’ “Year of Interfaith Understanding.”
GRAND RAPIDS, MI (February 1, 2012): Jeremy Bouma, local author and pastor-theologian, will release his second book this month, called PRAYERS FOR MY CITY: A Fixed-Hour Prayer Guide For Grand Rapids (THEOKLESIA). He is releasing this ecumenical Christian prayer book to coincide with the City of Grand Rapids’ “Year of Interfaith Understanding.”
“One of the major goals of the city’s ‘Year of Interfaith Understanding’ is to bring people together religiously. While this prayer book is definitely a Christian prayer book, one of my goals in creating it is to help reunite the Church of Grand Rapids across denominational devisions by bringing people together. What better way to do that than by praying together, in one unified voice?”
PRAYERS FOR MY CITY has three 15-minute daily prayer sessions based on The Book of Common Prayer, incorporating the Psalms, Scripture reading, and common Christian liturgical prayers. What sets this prayer book apart from others, however, are the twenty-one unique prayers written specifically for Grand Rapids by the author, a long-time West Michigan resident.
“This isn’t just any prayer book. It’s Grand Rapids’ prayer book. It’s a guide to help Grand Rapidians pray for their city with one voice, while helping them stay connected to their Creator and Redeemer throughout their busy day.”
Bouma discovered the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer himself while working as a pastor of sorts on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. As he explains, it was a life changing practice for him and the congressional staffers he ministered to:
“Some congressional staffers and I chose to meet for half an hour in the morning three days a week during Lent in order to center ourselves around the person and work of Jesus during this Holy Season. And during this time something—I dare say, magical—happened: we all experienced a deeper relationship with God in our life rhythm by participating in the rhythm of the Church.”
“We Christians also united in a way that I had not seen before. Episcopalians, Catholics, Methodists, and even Evangelicals all came together to pray as one Church with the historic Church. Usually Christians are divided, but this was different. It was an experience I simply had not had before.”
This experience inspired Bouma to create a website for iPhone and iPod users to access his condensed, amended version of the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer, which became the foundation for this book.
With PRAYERS FOR MY CITY, Bouma sets out to recapture fixed-hour prayer for 21st century Grand Rapids by helping the Church reconnect to this ancient past together as a unified fellowship of Christ.
“While many in the Church insist that we need to return back to the way the Church has always believed, I would like to suggest we also need to return back to the way the Church has always practiced, especially how the Church has always prayed. Perhaps re-rooting ourselves in the practices of the historic Church will help re-root and reunite ourselves in the historic Christian faith itself.”
“Our world is speeding up, people are busy, and worship is considered a waste of time. I hope this book will be an oasis in the middle of this chaos, and help people in Grand Rapids reorient their lives around God and their neighbors, together in community, for the glory of God and good of our city.”
The prayer book will be available in print at online and local bookstores. It will also be available as an ebook for NOOK and Kindle eReaders.
Full information on PRAYERS FOR MY CITY: A Fixed-Hour Prayer Guide for Grand Rapids, including a chapter and a sample prayer session, can be found at www.prayersformycity.com.
About the Publisher and Author
THEOKLESIA (www.theoklesia.com), is a hyperlocal idea curator dedicated to helping the Church of Grand Rapids rediscover the historic Christian faith. Jesus said that the Church is “the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.” We provide the resources to help Her shine brightly in 21st century Grand Rapids by helping the Grand Rapids Church connect God’s Story of Rescue to our city, while remaining theologically rooted and biblically uncompromising.
Jeremy Bouma returned to the Grand Rapids area over four years ago to pursue graduate work in theology and minister to the city after working in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill, first for a U.S. Senator and later as a pastor praying with Members of Congress, leading discussions on spirituality, and mentoring congressional staffers in the way of Jesus. In May 2010 he earned the Master of Divinity from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and will receive the Master of Theology in Historical Theology at the same institution this May. He is the founder of THEOKLESIA, a hyperlocal idea curator committed to helping the 21st century Grand Rapids church rediscover the historic Christian faith, and is the author of the (un)offensive gospel of Jesus. He lives in the city with his wife, Melinda.
Full bio can be found at www.theoklesia.com/who/jeremybouma
CONTACT: Jeremy Bouma
Phone: 616.920.0202
Email: HERE###
