Designate a volunteer to daily or weekly e-mail women of your group with prayer suggestions.

Choose a particular time during the week when group members, though separated, can all be in prayer. One example: Wednesday prayer at noon. Circulate a list of concerns and joys for everyone to pray over. You may invite others in your congregation to participate.

Ordinary events can become cues to recognize the sacredness in daily life. As a group select a time—when washing the dishes, before making a phone call, or when getting into a car, for example—and covenant together to pray a short prayer whenever that occasion happens.

Choose prayer partners or trios to meet together for regular prayer. Some may wish to do this prior to the Sunday morning worship service.

As a group, move from room to room throughout your church. In each space (sanctuary, nursery, kitchen, etc.) have someone prepare a one sentence prayer of blessing for the people represented by that room (teachers, janitors, pastor, etc.). This could become an annual custom.

Map out a walking route in your area, with points along the way where specific situations can be remembered in prayer. Some women may want to make a practice of walking and praying this route together.

Distribute a list of 5-6 sites throughout the church and outside of it, with suggestions of things to remember in prayer in each place. Group members may go alone or in pairs to each site and pray silently or aloud together. You might point out a symbol in each area; for example, in the library, ask group members to place their hands on the globe or atlas and pray for peace in areas of strife around the world.

As a group visit a nearby labyrinth—an increasingly popular tool for contemplative prayer. A feature of many medieval cathedrals, it is marked out on the floor, and—unlike a maze—has only one path, so you can’t get lost. A Web page that can help locate a labyrinth near you is found at: www.gracecathedral.org/labyrinth/. See also Praying the Labyrinth (Pilgrim Press, 1999) by Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion.

Print birthday calendars with the names of children, youth, and young adults in your congregation. Encourage their use as a tool for regular prayer. Or assign each group member a teacher to pray for and encourage.

Make keyrings as reminders to pray each time you use a key. String on stout thread or wire seven beads or buttons, designating a prayer focus for each one—for example, purple for Monday (self), blue for Tuesday (women worldwide), green for Wednesday (churchwide Mennonite Women), yellow for Thursday (those with no church home), etc.

Collect news stories about women who celebrate their faith through their witness for justice and peace. For contrast, include stories about women and girls who have endured suffering. Make a bulletin board display of your collection as reminders for praise to God and intercessory prayer.

Work through the Mission Mosaic, praying for a mission worker or family each time your group meets. Request a directory by calling (Canada) (204) 888-6781 or (U.S.) (219) 294-7523.

Use church periodicals as guides, naming in prayer those you read about and asking God’s blessing on their work and lives.

Pray scripture back to God. For example, Colossians 1:9-12: “God, I pray that _____ will be filled with the knowledge of your will. . . ” (see p. 41).

Study the Psalms as a form of prayer and encourage group members to try writing out their prayers in private devotional time.

Begin each Bible study session by pulling an empty chair into your circle, then in prayer invite God to fill it.  At the end of the study, remind group members to invite a friend to fill the chair in the next meeting.

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