As reported by WROC, faithful people across the country came together in spirit yesterday for the National Day of Prayer.

In Rochester, hundreds of people gathered on the steps of City Hall to commemorate the day, including pastors and representatives from local churches and groups like His Branches, City and County government, the Fire and Police Departments, and The Finney School. Many more filled churches in the surrounding area.

For many, it was a day to pray for the future of their city and country. Bishop David Singleton told us Rochester’s event attracts more than just locals.

“In fact, we have some folk from Texas, from Florida, from New York City and Niagara Falls,” he said. “They’ve come from different places to join in this time of prayer because they recognize the value of prayer that much, and they want to be a part of it here in Rochester.”

Several other local pastors spoke with grace and conviction at the gathering as well as Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, and others in leadership.

Prayer was initiated by the sounding of a chorus of shofars. After a time of guided group prayer (click here for a copy of the prayer sheet that was provided) the entire group entered into free form prayer for our community and nation.

The event was closed with the sounding of the shofar again, followed by a time of gospel music in front of City Hall. The National Day of Prayer was originally set aside by President Harry Truman in 1952 during the Korean War.

for music lovers of all ages followed by refreshments and a chance to meet the musicians. This fun program features popular music on the theme of “Rochester Weather” by the Women of Note.

These are some of the best singers in our region and they will be at our very own Arnett Library! We hope to see you and your families there!

Click here or on the image above to download a printable PDF flyer.

for music lovers of all ages followed by refreshments and a chance to meet the musicians. This concert features the RPO Salaff String Quartet accompanied by the Eastman Performers.

These are some of the best musicians in the area and they will be at our very own Arnett Library! We hope to see you and your families there!

Click here or on the image above to download a printable PDF flyer.

for music lovers of all ages followed by refreshments and a chance to meet the musicians. This concert features one of the Eastman School of Music’s Community Youth Ensembles.

These are some of the best up-and-coming musicians in the area and they will be at our very own Arnett Library! We hope to see you and your families there!

Click here or on the image above to download a printable PDF flyer.

The first event will be on January 19, 2017 from 12-1 pm at Arnett Library, kicking off with a tribute to King with guest speaker Monroe County Legislator LaShay Harris, the 19th Ward Youth Choir, poetry by Eric Hines, and spoken word drama by the MIBG group coordinated by Robert Ricks. The program promises to be an inspiring event!

U of R Medical Center

On Monday, January 21 at 11:30am to 12:30pm the 38th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Poetry, Dance, and Song will be held at the U of R School of Medicine and Dentistry, Whipple Auditorium (2-6424), 415 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14642. The event is sponsored by 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and Medical Center administration.Jonathan Jamel Reynolds, pastor of Aenon Baptist Church, will present the keynote address.

19th Ward Community Association

For many years the 19th Ward has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday in a public, community-building manner and will be doing so again this year. The 14th Annual Luminary Evening begins at 6:00 pm on Monday, January 21 when residents of the 19th Ward will begin setting out luminaries on the sidewalks in front of their homes to celebrate community, friendship and the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream.

The luminaries themselves are small paper bags weighted down with sand or kitty litter and containing a votive candle. Neighbors make a number of luminaries and set them at the sidewalk edge of their tree lawn from sunset until 9 pm, making a beautiful sight. We will have a limited supply of Luminary kits available for pick up January 19 at the MLK celebration at Arnett Library and from the 19th Ward Association office 216 Thurston 1-3 pm the prior week. Click here to see how to make your own Luminaries in a YouTube video by a 19th Ward resident, Moiet.

Some people host warming fires and a hot chocolate stands, called Hot Spots. Open your door in 2019 sign up as a Hot Spot; this is a social gathering serving a hot beverage and maybe cookies to your neighbors and sharing your thoughts on legacy of King. We are looking for more homes willing to be Hot Spots. This simply means that you provide hot chocolate and/or hot cider and/or a bonfire, anything warm, and of course a friendly smile on a cold winter night. Send questions or a commitment to info@luminaryevening.com.

Contact or info@luminaryevening.com. or MLK Committee Chair Zola Brown at 585-210-9370 if you have any questions,  Celebrating MLK Day serves as an opportunity to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to social activism and the legacy that has inspired us to continue his movement.

for music lovers of all ages followed by refreshments and a chance to meet the musicians. This concert features an Eastman Pathways Concert by the Rochester School Performers.

These are some of the best up-and-coming musicians in the area and they will be at our very own Arnett Library! We hope to see you and your families there!

Click here or on the image above to download a printable PDF flyer.

Dear Family, Friends, Ministry and Community Leaders, and Elected Officials,

Attached please find the 2019 prayer calendar for your use and to pass out to your circles / ministries.

Thank you for all of the emails and updates in 2018 as you took your place on the wall and interceded for our community. It makes a big difference.

Entering its 12th year (since 2008), the Monroe County-Wide Prayer Initiative allows us to employ a collective, yet flexible strategy of prayer that will result in participants systematically praying for almost every neighborhood in the City of Rochester, as well as every town and village in Monroe County.

Weekly, from wherever you are, you will join hundreds in prayer for the focus area of the week.

I look forward to joining you as we pray for specific communities, our government leaders, the schools, and the families of our county.

Please don’t hesitate to forward updates and testimonies.

Respectfully,

Luis A. Perez, LMSW

MCPI Founder and Director

This year’s community Christmas tree in our Garden Park on Arnett Boulevard has been a great success! From its arrival from Naples and set up by an enthusiastic group of neighborhood volunteers and local Firemen on December 1, to its decorating from top to bottom the following Monday by classrooms of local elementary school students, its been lighting up the neighborhood with the Christmas spirit of unity and harmony.

Look for scenes from our community caroling around the tree event on December 11, in the slideshow posted below. We had a bright bonfire going to roast marshmallows on, warm refreshments to share, and a time of celebrating all that’s good in our neighborhood. Click here to read a full report.

Come on by and visit while it’s up!

And contact us to volunteer in community park events in the future.

A few weeks ago, I went into my son Chase’s class for tutoring. I’d e-mailed Chase’s teacher one evening and said, “Chase keeps telling me that this stuff you’re sending home is math—but I’m not sure I believe him. Help, please.” She e-mailed right back and said, “No problem! I can tutor Chase after school anytime.” And I said, “No, not him. Me. He gets it. Help me.”

And that’s how I ended up standing at a chalkboard in an empty fifth-grade classroom while Chase’s teacher sat behind me, using a soothing voice to try to help me understand the “new way we teach long division.” Luckily for me, I didn’t have to unlearn much because I’d never really understood the “old way we taught long division.” It took me a solid hour to complete one problem, but I could tell that Chase’s teacher liked me anyway. She used to work with NASA, so obviously we have a whole lot in common.

Afterward, we sat for a few minutes and talked about teaching children and what a sacred trust and responsibility it is. We agreed that subjects like math and reading are not the most important things that are learned in a classroom. We talked about shaping little hearts to become contributors to a larger community—and we discussed our mutual dream that those communities might be made up of individuals who are kind and brave above all.

And then she told me this…

Click here to read the whole story.

or “Days of Awe” and Rosh Hashanah have just concluded this past week with the solemn fast and deep contemplations of Yom Kippur, and we are about to embark this week (click here for a calendar and brief explanation of this fall’s events) on one of our faith’s most lasting celebrations, Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles.

Every biblical holiday given to the Jewish people has these three aspects: Israel was commanded to observe the holiday in the present in order to remember something God had done in the past, and because of some future prophetic purpose hidden within each festival.

Thus Jewish people begin Shabbat each week by lighting of two candles, which stand for “Keep” and “Remember”. In so doing, they remember how God rested on the seventh day of Creation while also looking forward to the Millennial rest promised for the whole earth.

Likewise, Passover and Pentecost look back on the great Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the law at Sinai, while Christians believe that their hidden prophetic purposes were fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the birth of the Church fifty days later.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is the third great annual pilgrimage festival when the Jewish people gather together in Jerusalem not only to remember God’s provision in the Wilderness but also to look ahead to that promised Messianic age when all nations will flow to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah 14:16-19

Click here for information about the ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles celebrations in Jerusalem.