By Lloyd Mackey

OVER A thousand people raised the roof last Friday in the historic Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland/Labrador. It was the opening evening of TheCRY St. John's.

Faytene Kryskow, leader of the event and similar occurrences during 2008 in Edmonton, Ottawa/Gatineau, Iqualit and Toronto, said the setting was appropriate. After all, she noted, "it was John the Baptist who declared "This is the voice of one 'crying' in the desert saying 'Prepare the way of the Lord.'" (John 1:23)

The opening night was preparation for a 12-hour prayer session the next day in the city's convention centre. Kryskow seemed especially pleased, during a phone interview with cc.com, that local Catholic Archbishop Martin Currie gave "charismatic and awesome" greetings to the crowd.

A departure from the crowd makeup in previous TheCRYs, the St. John's contingent had many more local people and a larger number of seniors. Catholic, mainstream Protestant and conservative evangelical participation was also higher than in previous events. Kryskow suggested that "up to 90 per cent of the crowd may well never have been to anything (as free-flowing as) this style of prayer." They will have been more familiar with "liturgical, contemplative" prayer forms, she said.

That demographic shift, Kryskow added, might have been dictated by the fact that the "regulars" who attend such events would have had more difficulty getting to the eastern edge of the nation, and more locals of various ages were curious about the phenomenon.

While the east was the focal point, the far west was in evidence, as well, as Kevin Cavanaugh, head of Hope-Vancouver, a prayer network preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, presented the opportunities for covering and outreach at that event. Kryskow used Cavanaugh's presentation to announce that the next TheCRY will be in Vancouver, and will be used to "prepare the way" for God's presence in and around the Games.

How many attended the St. John's event? As is common at these kinds of Christian gatherings, an exact count was hard to pin down. Cavanaugh, whose day job is senior pastor at Cedar Grove Baptist in Surrey, BC, where he normally preaches to 1,000 people on a weekend, said there were "at least 1,000, probably more." And Kryskow, who arranged for the printing of 1,700 handbills, said most of them were picked up by attenders, so she was prepared to conservatively estimate 1,500.

But she was additionally enthused by the fact that the event had an additional audience of "hundreds of millions, perhaps even half a billion" on God TV. The online channel streamed the proceedings.

Continue article >>

But there was the human side to the long prayer sessions, as well. One young boy was heard telling his father, at the end of the evening: "12 hours already? Can we go to the next one?"

Topic-wise, they covered the gamut from local to regional, national and global issues. The people who did the praying, accompanied by unannounced worship bands and spiritually-motivating speakers, focused on unity for Newfoundland/Labrador and Canada, human trafficking and life issues. Asked by CC.com whether the reported antipathy of Premier Danny Williams toward Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a prayer subject, Kryskow diplomatically replied that Williams' name was not mentioned.

At one point, Kryskow read a letter to the crowd from Harper, which said, in part: "I hope this special day of prayer will deepen the bonds that tie Canadian Christian youth together."

Cavanaugh, for his part, spoke glowingly of the leadership Kryskow gave to the event. As the leader of a prayer initiative, himself, that presently involves close to 200 Christian leaders and pastors, he spoke of the need for skill and discernment in putting such events together.

"What Faytene is doing is pressing in to God and moving others to do the same, in this case, in 12 hours of prevailing prayer," he said. "She is an incredible leader: I couldn't be more impressed."

Hope-Vancouver, named for the fact that it tries link people from Hope to Vancouver, is presently bringing some 200 pastors and Christian leaders together for prayer initiatives. And, in the run-up to the Olympics, Cavanaugh said they will be "following the torch with 100 days of prayer in 200 cities" across Canada. TheCRY people have bought in to this vision, he suggested.

The prayer initiative comes under the covering of More Than Gold, a Christian-based initiative which, in itself, is endorsed by Vanoc, the 2010 Olympic organizing committee.

For context on these particular prayer movements, particularly TheCRY, cc.com obtained a perspective from Mark Steinacher, history professor at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto.

Such movements have persisted through Christian history, in various forms, since the Roman emperor Constantine tried Christianizing the world in the 4th century, said Steinacher.

Steinacher's own doctoral studies at the University of Toronto focused on the Restoration movement of the 1800s, which involved American groups now a part of the Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ and the United Church of Christ. (The latter group, new president Barack Obama has said, brought him to the Christian faith.)

Some mission groups caution against "the enforcing of Christian morality through government or capturing the nation for Jesus," said Steinacher. But there is a strong attraction that needs sympathetic observation and study, he added.

February 26/2009