"Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints," (Eph. 6:18)

Beloved In Christ,

In this fraught moment of trial in the life of our nation and parish community, it behooves us to pray. Not simply to say or to recite our prayers as we might previously have done before the shadow of this virus appeared, but to offer our heartfelt, fervent prayers for the world. 

Prayer is that great bastion of defense for all who resort to the mercies of Almighty God in faith. St. Paul wrote to the Hebrews; "For without faith it is impossible to please God, for those who come to God must believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6) By faith, expressed in fervent prayer, mountains can be moved!

To that end, this Prayer Chain ministry is being launched to help us marshall our spiritual resources toward a common goal, the salvation of souls and the cessation of this virus, finally allowing the faithful to return to our parish homes for public worship. But beyond this immediate goal of return, there exist a great many more.

The vanity and emptiness of our society is now clearly exposed. Hopelessness, anger, bitterness, division, and a callous disregard for others waft through our cultural atmosphere. Greater than 2.3MM of our fellow citizens have contracted the COVID-19 virus, while greater than 120,000 have lost their lives to it.

Closer to home, Arizona is in the grip of the virus as daily cases climb alarmingly high, pushing our dedicated healthcare workers to their physical and emotional limits. The needs are many! Greater than 40MM of our fellow citizens have been thrown out of work and a pall of uncertainty hangs over us. There will be no rapid return to the 'normal' we but recently assumed would last indefinitely. 

But through our fervent combined prayer, coupled with sincere repentance, we will surmount even these grace challenges! To that end, the tools below are being provided to assist in this effort as it pleases God. You will note the "when2meet" app tool which allows participants to select that daily time they wish to add their prayers to the whole (Please note that many can select the same time of day together!)

You will also note that a variety of prayer tools have been provided as well; daily prayers for morning and evening, daily services of matins, vespers, compline, and the Paraklesis service in the simplified format of our summer youth camp ministry. Time slots are available in 15, 30, and 60 minute increments as your situation allows.

Please also strive to include your family in this ministry! What better way can we reinforce the spiritual well-being of our children and loved ones than be gathering around our homes altars to beseech God for His Divine Mercy? May this effort be blessed as we enter into this effort of fervent prayer!

Rev. Father Apostolos Hill | Dean