Prayer mantles for General Conference

PRAYING FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE—At OKC-St. Andrew’s on Jan. 30, volunteers who painted silk prayer mantles for General Conference leaders and delegates are led in a blessing ceremony by Tom Albin, right, dean of Upper Room Ministries. Second from right is D.A. Bennett, St. Andrew’s pastor.  Photos by Amelia Balew

On Jan. 29 and 30, an Upper Room training event drew 52 people to OKC-St. Andrew’s, where they learned about the global prayer initiative for the denomination’s General Conference and created 200 prayer mantles for delegates and other general-church leaders.

Top, spreading salt on freshly painted mantles are Glenna Ott of Norman-McFarlin UMC and silk artist Joyce Estes of Florida. Scriptures about salt’s value were shared by Tom Albin of The Upper Room Ministries, an Oklahoma extension minister.

Below, Susan Robinson of St. Andrew’s paints a mantle. Blue signifies the ocean beside Tampa Bay, Fla., where the quadrennial conference meets in late April. Bottom, Jane Cook, Susan Carruth, and Ott, all McFarlin members, iron finished mantles.

Eighteen people were elected as General Conference delegates from the Oklahoma Conference. Find resources for "50 Days of Prayer for General Conference" at: www.upperroom.org/news/25.