MPR’s Elizabeth Baier reports on Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester, which offers prayers to go in the church parking lot. The church, and others like it, are looking at ways that allow ministers to reach people where it is convenient for them.
Awarded:
2015 Minnesota AP Award, first place in Feature - Radio Division, Class Three category
CATHY WURZER: For someone in a hurry, this might be the perfect place for prayer. The street leads to a church parking lot near downtown Rochester, and it's the place where, every Wednesday, pastors and volunteers set up a table, fill up the coffee pots, and wait for people to roll down their windows and ask for a prayer to go. Elizabeth Baier has more.
RON SCHEID: There's one of our stoppers.
ELIZABETH BAIER: It's 7:45 in the morning, 19 degrees outside. 80-year-old Lowell Narveson pulls into the parking lot of Bethel Lutheran Church.
LOWELL NARVESON: Hi, buddy.
RON SCHEID: Hey, buddy. Well, do you want a cup of coffee?
LOWELL NARVESON: Yes, I would.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Volunteer Ron Scheid and Pastor Anjanette Bandel huddle at the truck's window.
RON SCHEID: He stops for a prayer once in a while.
LOWELL NARVESON: Oh, yes.
RON SCHEID: And Pastor Anjanette.
ANJANETTE BANDEL: Good to see you this morning.
RON SCHEID: Do you have a cup with you?
LOWELL NARVESON: No.
RON SCHEID: OK, I'll be right back. Black, right?
LOWELL NARVESON: I've been sick.
ANJANETTE BANDEL: You've been sick? Well, that's a bummer.
LOWELL NARVESON: I went to the clinic a week ago, Monday, and it's the first time I've been out of the house in two and a half weeks.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Ron Scheid is one of two volunteers at the drive-through prayer today. He says, often, the people who stop are struggling with marriages, financial problems, or health concerns. And he hopes a quick prayer and a hand to hold will give them hope and support in a way that's convenient. He tells me of a similar experience he had last summer after his car rolled over in Western South Dakota.
RON SCHEID: A lady crawled in the window from the ambulance crew to hold me. She said, I didn't want you to die alone. That really hit me. And that's the reason we're out here because we've got these feelings for the people, even the ones that just drive by. People get out of the car sometimes and they want to hold hands. And really, they really, really, really want a prayer.
ELIZABETH BAIER: A few miles from the drive-through prayer. Pastor Doug Sparks of Saint Luke's Episcopal Church explains how his congregation reaches out to people short on time. On one particular day, Ash Wednesday, along with several colleagues, he started what he believes is Minnesota's only ashes to go program. According to the program's website, volunteers have distributed ashes at sites in a dozen states and Nova Scotia since 2010.
DOUG SPARKS: Here's another opportunity that's different from the way we've done things in the past and maybe this will be useful. And maybe this is an opportunity to encounter people on their turf rather than assuming that church is when people come to a building.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Sparks says his approach is simple. He asks people walking by if they'd like to have ashes and pray. If they respond, he approaches them. If not, he gives them a smile.
DOUG SPARKS: I have not had anyone be offended by the invitation. And most people will either look and they'll smile. Some people will say, I'm going to church tonight. But the people who do stop, the facial expression is one of just gratitude and thanksgiving.
RON SCHEID: Back at the Bethel Lutheran parking lot, Pastor Anjanette Bandel offers Lowell Narveson a quick blessing.
LOWELL NARVESON: So nice to see you.
ANJANETTE BANDEL: Yeah. Well, can I offer a prayer right now? Would that be OK?
LOWELL NARVESON: Oh, sure, yes.
ANJANETTE BANDEL: All right. Well, let us pray. Gracious God, on this day, we give you thanks for your many blessings, especially ask for continued good health, and ask that you would help to guide us always to be able to find blessing even in the midst of challenge.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Bandel says drive-through prayers have popped up across the country in recent years. But for her, what matters is reaching people where it's convenient, even in the driver's seat.
ANJANETTE BANDEL: If you are in the midst of a busy life, to pause for prayer is maybe something that crosses your mind, but maybe we're enacting that moment for people. But I do think it has to do a little bit with the convenience aspect that makes this an interesting outreach.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Bandel walks back to the sidewalk, waves at cars passing by, and waits for the next car to drive up for a prayer. Elizabeth Baier, Minnesota Public Radio News, Rochester.
CATHY WURZER: I guess you could say it's God to go.
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