wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 214-Church gives out prayer bears to struggling people

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Church gives out prayer bears to struggling people

>May. 21, 2008

NOTE: Photographs and a video are available at http://umns.umc.org.

>By Heidi Robinson*

ELK CREEK, Va. (UMNS)--Wayne Johnson recalls the day his doctor told him
to go home and get his affairs in order. The 52-year-old was not
expected to survive surgery to remove his tumor-filled kidney,
particularly on the heels of an earlier heart surgery.

"My two kids were sitting right there with me," he recalls. "Can you
imagine what that was like? A doctor tells you to figure out things like
wills and where you want to be buried."

Waiting for the surgery proved to be the hardest on Johnson and his
family. Too sick to work at his coal company and too weak to leave the
house, "I just prayed to God to let me live to raise Nick and Ashley,"
he says.

Hope came from an unexpected source: a stuffed teddy bear from a local
United Methodist church--and the prayers it symbolized.

"I was literally sitting there dying," says Johnson. "My daughter's
friend Taylor came in to the house after she'd been at church. I was so
sick I didn't even get off the couch. And she handed me this bear."

>Around its neck was a tag with this message:

"This bear has been among the congregation of Mount Zion United
Methodist. It has heard the Word read and taught, prayers prayed, and
songs of praise sung. It now comes to you, with prayers for your
comfort, strength and healing. May the Lord bless you and keep you in
His care."

Johnson and his family were not members of Mount Zion but, but the
church was his first stop when he was able to walk on his own following
his surgery.

"I knew the people of that church, and I knew the strength of their
prayers," he says. "I wanted to thank them ... for this bear. It's the
anointing of the bear. There is a lot of love in this bear. There is a
lot of healing."

>Sharing hugs and prayers

Johnson is one of hundreds of people who have been touched by the Mount
Zion "prayer bears" ministry. While the church averages between 50 and
60 people in Sunday worship, the congregation has given out more than
300 teddy bears in the last two years to people in need. Each comes with
a message of encouragement.

Nestled in the rolling hills near Elk Creek, the small white church is
one of five congregations that Pastor Bill Shupe serves. Mount Zion's
prayer bear ministry has inspired other churches on his circuit to
launch similar ministries.

"It is not always the big things people do that touch lives and inspire
hearts," says Shupe. "It is in fact often the small things ... given
when someone needs them most. A phone call to check on a friend, a hug,
and yes, a teddy bear that remind people who are hurting that we, the
church, are praying for them in their pain."

The ministry began when Pam Southerland, a lay leader and administrative
assistant to the pastor, was experiencing painful symptoms of multiple
sclerosis. Her sister, a United Methodist pastor, gave her a teddy bear
from her church to remind her that she was receiving prayer and support.
Out of her own personal experience came Mount Zion's prayer bear
ministry.

"I bought a few bears and brought them into the church and put the tags
on them," she says. "I asked the congregation if they would take them to
the people on our church prayer list. Then, I invited folks to bring in
other bears to be tagged and sent out to anyone who was sick, homebound,
hospitalized or just needed encouragement."

The ministry took off. Families would donate stuffed animals and others
would take them out in armloads to distribute throughout the community.
As the ministry approaches its third year, church member Sherry Hale
talks about the ripple effect and the joy of seeing others "pay it
forward."

"Folks who have received the bears and come through their hard time are
now giving their bears away ... to bring hope to other people who need
it," she says.

Shupe loves the congregation's enthusiasm. "It's something everyone can
do ... no matter the age. The bears give everyone a chance to reach out
to people in need," he says.

>Cuddly ambassadors

On any given Sunday, visitors to the church will find more than people
in the pews. Teddy bears perch next to 94-year-old Miss Ester and are
also clutched in the arms of children listening to the sermon. As the
final hymn ends, people thoughtfully select a furry ambassador of hope
for a friend, neighbor or family member.

"I'm getting one for my math teacher," says 11-year-old Micah Pike. "She
has breast cancer, and I want her to know we are praying and pulling for
her."

His 9-year-old sister, Dara, has selected a bear, too. "My neighbor's
wife died. He is really sad. I don't want him to feel lonely," says the
fourth-grader.

On the back of each bear's tag are the church address and an invitation
to share how the bear helps.

"People write us cards, and letters," says Southerland. "... Folks say
that knowing we were praying for them during their time of trouble
helped them heal. Of course, it's not just us.... It's God. That's what
is great."

*Robinson is a freelance producer based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470
or newsdesk@umcom.org.

>********************

United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org

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