Ringing the Bells...really!

If anyone is interested in praying the daily office during Holy Week, much in the manner I described in my sermon from a couple of weeks ago, then we can help you do this.

In the sermon on discipling the day through the discipline of fixed-hour prayer, I described how beginning at 6:00 a.m. bells were rung throughout the Roman empire to signal the opening of the market. It was subsequently rung every three hours as the day passed and concluded at 6:00 p.m. when the markets closed. Jews and Christians alike incorporated the ringing of those bells as a call to prayer throughout the day.

We generally lack similar kinds of prompts through our days that help us to be "called" to prayer. This week we are experimenting with just such a prompt: text messages or email reminders. Since many people sit in front of screens or are out and about with only their phones, using technology to prompt us to pray in many ways is analogous to the ringing bells of the Roman markets.

If you would like to receive either a text message or an email three times a day (at 9:00 a.m., noon, and 3:00 p.m.) with a psalm to pray, then follow these simple instructions:

• To receive a text message 1) send a text message from your phone to 40404 that says "follow jacobswell". 2) When you receive verification (within minutes) text back (to 40404) your name. You are now signed up.
• To receive an email, email Beth with "Ring the bells" as the subject line.