Bible study, prayer group help US midfielder connect with teammates

&Nbsp;                                                                Midfielder Heather O’Reilly is a member of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. The former altar server at St. Bartholomew Parish in New Brunswick, N.J., is a two-time Olympian and will be playing in her second FIFA Women’s World Cup when the U.S. meets North Korea in Dresden, Germany, June 28. (CNS photo/John Dorton, courtesy of ISI Photos)
WASHINGTON – When the No. 1-ranked U.S. women’s soccer team goes on the road, members have multiple training sessions, physical therapy, media events and team meetings, but midfielder Heather O’Reilly still finds time for Bible study.

O’Reilly participates in a Bible study and prayer group with some of the women on her team and told Catholic News Service, “You find a lot of bonds that way.”

“It lets you connect on a different level because you see how it (faith) affects their everyday life in soccer,” O’Reilly told CNS in a telephone interview June 9, days before leaving for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

“After games or before games, some of the girls get together and pray. It brings people together. We share such a love of soccer, but also God and Jesus,” she said.

At only 26, O’Reilly already boasts an impressive record in the women’s soccer world. She was part of the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal team, played on the 2004 Olympic team and is one of the fastest players on the national team. With 29 career goals, she is the 14th all-time female goal scorer in U.S. history. In the beginning of 2011, she broke the U.S. Soccer women’s record for consecutive games played, at 63.

The former altar server at St. Bartholomew Parish in New Brunswick, N.J., will be playing in her second FIFA Women’s World Cup when the United States meets North Korea in Dresden, Germany, June 28.

Growing up in a Catholic family, O’Reilly attended St. Bartholomew School, East Brunswick High School and later the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied education.

DeanRoberts.Net | Post: New Mayor gets rid of Council prayers

Christian prayers have been axed from the beginning of council meetings by the new mayor of Bridport in Dorset, David Rickard. He has decided to replace the prayers at full meetings of Bridport Town Council with a “short time of quiet, private contemplation”.

The decision has proved highly controversial.Councillor Sandra Brown, a former mayor, warned

I feel very strongly about it and there are several of us on the council who are quite dismayed by it. Sadly though I don’t think there are enough of us to make him change his mind.It is one of our traditions and I think it’s an awful decision to stop it. I’m biased I suppose because I am a great believer in the power of prayer and I have seen it in action, but I think for the sake of five minutes at the beginning of a meeting, it should stay.

Elsewhere in the news, Bideford Town Council is currently being sued by the National Secular Society for saying prayers at the start of its Council meetings. The Council has had prayers at its meetings since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

I don’t quite know what to make of this story… I mean, yeah I get that many people would love separation of Church and State and all that business. But I can’t help but feel that it seems like many people in the council WANT to pray before meetings. Should we axe prayers just for the sake of who don’t want it and aren’t involved in the council, or should we keep prayers because it’s our tradition, what many want and are happy with?

Obviously being a Christian, I’d go with the latter. What about you? What do you  think the argument is here?

 

However I suppose this article may have just promoted the side of the council members who would have liked to have kept it, and its possible that they might be in the minority. In that case, I think that this period of contemplation isn’t such a bad thing – it may not be a group prayer, but it still allows people to pray privately, and for others who don’t pray to think about things. I personally don’t tend to pray (since I am not a Christian) but when I am occasionally in a Christian environment and there are prayers, I find the time rather pleasant – its nice to just sit and think about things sometimes, without distractions. Even if not everyone agrees with the Christian idea of praying to God, they usually agree with the sentiments behind the prayer (e.g.

Meeting Prayers

The collection is,thematically arranged and indexed for use in a variety of gatherings.

How to Pray

CHAPTER XII THE PLACE OF PRAYER BEFORE AND DURING REVIVALS No treatment of the ... history had its origin on the human side in a ten-day's prayer-meeting. ...

How to conduct prayer-meetings, or, An account of some meetings that have been held

PRAYER -MEETING CONVENTIONS. PRESIDENT Edwards has devoted a treatise, (Vol. ... saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of ...

Prayers for the Lord's Day, Hope for the Exiles

In this collection of liturgical prayers, James S. Lowry provides an excellent resource for preaching pastors.

The Friend

When he began Mary was more angry than ever before in her life, .... a hun- "Now let us have a prayer meeting; brother dred years, and a wanderer from God. ...