Connecticut Church Google Map being built

The busy folks over at the Pray Connecticut website (umm... that would be me) are in the process of constructing a Google map of evangelical, charismatic and what I suppose I would call "orthodox mainline" churches in Connecticut.
Jump over to check it out.

Please do not be offended if you are not on the map yet - I need you to help me build it! Spread the word around and together we can create a wonderful resource for believers and the unchurched in our State.



Each "pin" on the map is clickable and will show the location of the church, contact information, including a link to the church's website if there is one.

Check out this photo for an idea of what it looks like. Shown in this screen are the church I serve, and the pin at the lower right is our good friends at Presbyterian Church of Old Greenwich.

Hope to hear from lots of you on this one!

Final preparations for civil unions

Justices of the Peace are receiving their final training to get ready for civil unions on October 1st. After all, as one justice was quoted, "The last thing Connecticut needs are incompetent justices of the peace." Justices, at least so far, are able to refuse to civil-unionize same-sex partners based upon their convictions. We'll see how long that lasts...

And, Atty. General Blumenthal says Connecticut will recognize civil unions performed in other states.

Keep praying!

We're back...

Hope you like the new look of the blog. Some day I may tweak the colors to make it more like our state colors, but since it is fall it's OK for now. Not all our fans can be happy, few though they may be.

I've been swamped with a couple of projects and so have not been able to post. We should be more regular now - thanks for coming by!

Back to school...back to God

Years of concerted prayer for college campuses are bearing fruit as this story in Christianity Today attests. Faithful intercessors, including some tenacious student leasers, are redigging wells of revival originally dug centuries ago by men of faith who founded many of the Ivy League schools.

Remember to pray for Yale this fall, and all the college campuses in our area.

Civil Union getting ready to roll out

While Gov. Schwarzenegger gets ready to veto gay marriage, Connecticut is getting ready to launch its slightly watered-down version, the so-called "civil unions," on October 1st.

Here's a summary of what to look for from the Courant. However, we need to stay on guard in prayer that the courts do not expand this legislation beyond its parameters.

Praying for rain...

Praying for rain may strike you as an odd or antiquated notion, but it's actually a sign of a healthy spirit - one that can acknowledge its dependence on God and what He supplies.

The famous Bible passage which encourages us to pray for revival says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) But what was the healing the land needed? Sometimes it was lack of rain.

In the verse before the famous one, God tells the nation of Israel, "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people..." (2 Chron. 7:13) This provides a little context. God has the ability, should He choose, to turn off the spigot.

The people of that day lived and died (literally) with the weather and the rain cycle that gave them their harvest. So God found it easier perhaps to get their attention than He does ours. Has anyone noticed the drought or near-drought conditions in our neck of the woods of late? Read this to see how some wells are drying up and just how little rain we are getting. Not only wells but also agriculture is being affected. (You can track drought conditions all over by going here.)

Take some time in your prayer closet this week to thank God for the provision which we so often take for granted. Then, and at the risk of sounding odd, or even antiquated, ask Him for rain in our region.

President declares a National Day of Prayer for Sept. 16

The President has declared a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the victims of the hurricane. In it he quotes the words of Jesus, "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in."

Read the full text of the declaration here.

(One warning, the White House's website is a .gov, not a .com. The domain whitehouse, followed by the ".com" is something unsafe for children (and others) to view. Unfortunately, such is the state of society. Many people have mad the mistake of going to the wrong address and had their eyeballs assaulted.)

Give thanks for this declaration and let's pray earnestly for all those dislocated.

Connecticut will take some 1500 Katrina evacuees

Governor Rell announces the State will take in 1,500 evacuees.

Please continue to pray for the displaced. This is a time to show the compassion of Christ!

New website coming

I've decided I need to switch over to a new host. My old host has no record of me and none of my files. (Yes, I paid the bill!) Stay tuned.

The new site will be this, which is easier to spell and remember perhaps: www.prayct.org.

New e-mail should be up soon as well, which is info@prayct.org.

Website down

Our website at www.prayconnecticut.org has been pulled for some reason unbeknownst to me. The hosting company does not even show me in their records at the moment. I am at a loss to explain this but I am less than thrilled. Sorry for any unconvenience.

Waterbury area readers: Katrina relief efforts

First Assembly of God in Waterbury is providing relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Especially needed are water and diapers.

For details, call the church at (203) 753-8023.

Federal Judge grants Injunction to save air base

Governor Rell has been arguing that the Pentagon cannot realign the Bradley Air Guard base without her consent. A Federal Judge has agreed, at least temporarily.

Pray Connecticut Website launches!

I'm happy to announce that we have officially launched the new Pray Connecticut website. It's a work in progress, but functional enough at this point to help you find some news or some information about your hometown.

We will continue to add to it with the goal of making it a full-blown Christian portal for Connecticut!

Current pages include:

• a complete list of Connecticut newspapers on the web
• links to all municipal websites

Coming soon: an events calendar for Christian events in our State, church listings, teaching articles and other great features!

Stop by!

How can we pray for Connecticut? (Part 3)

In the previous posts in this series (see links below), we talked about how God has given "redemptive gifts" to different places and regions. These are gifts and abilities he has given to advance his cause and make us a blessing. We talked about how Connecticut has a call to be "The Arsenal of the Nation." In the natural, this reflects our traditional connection to the military. In the spirit, it speaks of how we have advanced the Kingdom through intercession. We also talked about how Connecticut has a call to model and Godly leadership and government, reflected in our nickname, "The Constitution State."

Connecticut also has a calling to meet the needs of others.

An early nickname for Connecticut was “The Provision State,” a name we received in part by being a major supplier of provisions for the Continental Army, supposedly saving the troops at Valley Forge. Some say we provided nearly half of Washington’s supplies.

This was also reflected in our State and Hartford in particular becoming the “Insurance Capital of the World,” inventing modern insurance and the modern insurance company.

We have also accumulated enormous personal and corporate wealth and influence out of all proportion to our size.

However, our wealth has not gone to advance the Kingdom of God but selfishness, creating gross inequities. Thus Greenwich, the richest town east of the Mississippi, exists in the same State as a Hartford, the # 2 city in the entire United States for child poverty. And we now boast two enormous casinos, one of which is the largest resort casino in the world, breeding gambling.

PRAY for Connecticut to become the Provision State once again and that her great wealth will be released for the advancement of the Gospel!

Click to read Part 1

Click to read Part 2

The $100 fill-up... and how much warning of Katrina?

Governor Rell is considering options to help with the soaring cost of gas... including suspending the state gas tax.

Pray for the economy!

Here's an eerie story about a worst-case hurricane scenario in New Orleans, published in 2004 by National Geographic... read it.

Katrina and Connecticut

Some Connnecticut universities are going to accept Katrina storm refugees.

The Connecticut Sun are donating proceeds from their Friday playoff game to the relief efforts. This is expected to bring in $50,000. Bravo!

The AP is throwing around a nice story about the rough-and-ready Connecticut Red Cross volunteers. Thank God. Read this one.

No surprise, we are also ever ready to provide National Guardsmen and utility workers.

Lots more of this going on, too!

Keep praying.