Worldwide Prayer & Fasting for those with COVID-19

Dear Interfaith Council Members and Friends,

We invite each of you and our brothers and sisters in faith to join with us in a special day of prayer and fasting this Sunday, March 29th.

The president of the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, has issued the following message and call to action as we together do our part to battle the Coronavirus and aid those suffering and in need.

We invite you to prayerfully consider his universal plea.

Peace,
Gary and Kim Napper

Dear Friends,

We extend our love to you and want you to know we are praying for your safety and well-being.

We are entering a very critical phase in the COVID-19 outbreak. The next two to four weeks will determine whether the extensive efforts of national and local leaders to stem the rate of community spread of COVID-19 will be successful. The personal health of millions of people and the economic well-being of all nations hang in the balance. The next few weeks and months will likely be an unprecedented period of challenge and economic struggle for many. These are extraordinary times. There has never been a greater need in our lifetime for all people to turn to God for help and peace.

This coming Sunday, March 29, 2020, millions of our Church members throughout the world, including hundreds of thousands in California, will unite to make that day a special day of Fasting and Mighty Prayer. We will also encourage our members to donate to those organizations that are helping those in need to deal with this crisis. The purpose of this fast is three-fold:

1. To ask God to bless and inspire our leaders and their efforts to protect the health and well-being of all people and to find solutions to address the challenges we are facing in all nations.
2. To pray for all those who are suffering the physical, emotional, and economic impact of COVID-19, that they will be blessed according to their needs.
3. To pray for spiritual strength to overcome fear and anxiety, for inspiration to protect ourselves and our families, and for the awareness and ability to minister to those in need.

We would like to invite you and your congregation(s) to also make Sunday a day of fasting and prayer.  We are certain that the united faith and prayers of all Faiths can be a powerful force for obtaining God’s help and blessings, and for helping each of us to have the faith, strength and inspiration necessary to face this challenge.

Please join us in whatever way works within your faith.  And please let me know of your plans so that we can be mindful of those who are also uniting their faith and prayers with ours on that day.

May God bless you in your service.