Prayer Vigil Supporting Our Soldiers

January 29, 2005

As you all know, the upcoming elections in Iraq will mean extremely dangerous conditions for our soldiers, not only this week, but also especially in the hours of the Iraqi election. With great concern and worry in our hearts, we as family members of the 278 th soldiers, have organized an area wide prayer vigil to be held at various churches in the East Tennessee area during this time. Since Iraq is eight hours ahead of our time zone, the Iraqi polls will be open between the hours of 11pm and 9 am our time on Saturday the 29 th into Sunday the 30 th .

Although we may feel helpless at times in the fate of our soldiers, we are not! One of the greatest gifts, and possibly the only thing we can offer for this occasion, is prayer. It is our intent to cover ALL SOLDIERS dealing with the Iraqi elections in prayer during every second of this election. Attached is a list of churches that have agreed to join us in this endeavor. Each church listed will be participating by opening their doors to the public and providing a room or sanctuary for prayer, as well as assigning hours of prayer to volunteering congregation members throughout the nighttime. We have also asked that books be available so that anyone wishing to write notes of encouragement and well wishes to the soldiers may do so. These notes will be sent to Camp Caldwell, Iraq the following week.

We invite everyone to come and take part in this area wide effort for the benefit of our soldiers. The ability to pray is free and one that has been given to us by the service of the men and women in need of our prayers now. Of all the things those of us here on American soil can do for our military, this may be the most important part we serve – may God watch over them and keep them safe during this volatile and dangerous time.

Area Churches Participating in Prayer Vigil for Soldiers in Iraq