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Whittier clergy unites to pray for the community.
For the 15th consecutive year, The Salvation Army in Whittier (Calif.) hosted the annual Whittier Area Prayer Summit on Feb. 10.
The event, organized by the Whittier Area Evangelical Ministerial Alliance, brings clergy and church members together from all denominations for 11 hours of prayer. Topics include the community’s children, political leaders, first-responders, teachers, soldiers, families and those suffering from HIV.
Rev. Dwight Sullivan, of the Whittier Evangelical United Methodist Church, is a co-founder of the event.
“I don’t think there are too many communities that have something like this,” he said, noting that the prayer conference is just one example of the close relationships Whittier churches share.
The annual event attracts up to 500 people, revolving in and out of the event for prayer.
Pastor Ralph Pacheco, of First Christian Church International and summit committee member, said, “At our first summit 15 years ago, we began the prayer at exactly 7:14 a.m. to reflect the Scripture used to express our purpose for gathering together as a community of believers,” said Pastor Ralph Pacheco, of the First Christian Church International and a summit committee member. “‘If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14).”
