Prayerie prayer walks have been a journey of uncovering and coming into agreement with God’s original intent for Erie—responding to the call to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3). We have stood together to contend for the lifting of gates and ancient doors (Psalm 24), praying across city and county lines, over school districts, municipalities, borders, ports of entry, and places marked by history—welcoming the King of Glory into every sphere.
This year, I sense the Lord inviting us to go further—beyond personal and local focus—into a wider revelation of Erie’s appointed place within His regional design. As has been prophesied, Erie is a hinge—a gateway through which God’s purposes for the nation can flow. There is a fresh invitation to lay hold of this identity and agree with heaven that Erie is not isolated, but rightly positioned—its sons and daughters aligned, embracing their place within the family of God.
Yet, as we step forward, the Lord is also calling us to deal with what has hindered us. We must recognize, repent of, and reject mindsets shaped by the enemy’s lies—particularly those that have rooted Erie in isolation and reinforced an orphan spirit. In seeking to understand how this took root, I began exploring Erie’s relationship with Pennsylvania. What emerged was a much broader picture—revealing God’s intentional design not just for Erie, but for the region and beyond.
So how did this orphan spirit gain a foothold in Erie? Read on as I share what I discovered—something that deeply intrigued the history enthusiast in me.
Pennsylvania’s geography naturally divides the state into several regions:
- Eastern corridor – early colonial settlements
- Central Appalachian Mountains – isolation and resilience
- Western industrial region – river expansion and steel
- Northwestern lake region – Great Lakes connections
Many people interpret PA cities like this:
- Philadelphia = foundational center of Pennsylvania
- Harrisburg = governmental center
- Pittsburgh = industrial center
- Erie = far corner
But Northwest Pennsylvania actually functions as a gate between regions rather than a center of one region. Gates are not the center of a house—but nothing enters without them. For centuries it has been a place that connects worlds: where goods moved, people migrated, ideas traveled, and spiritual movements passed through.
- Great Lakes ↔ Pennsylvania
- Midwest ↔ East Coast
- Industry ↔ trade routes
- Cultures ↔ immigrants
According to historians and social scientists, expressing an orphan narrative is actually common in gateway regions. Places whose role is to connect others often struggle with identity because they are not the political center or the economic capital, especially, places like Erie who have experienced the rust belt, population shifts, and economic underdevelopment. Yet historically those places frequently carry disproportionate influence because they are where exchange happens. When a connector embraces its role, it stops feeling peripheral and begins to see itself as strategic.
What once felt like disconnection—the lie of the enemy of having an orphaned identity—can be broken with a revelation of one’s true identity. We are not abandoned, but positioned, not neglected, but assigned. Our churches are family, not competitors. We are not orphans; we are to embrace sonship/daughterhood and be good stewards of God’s call.
The Lord is inviting us to see Erie as more than a city—He is revealing it as a hinge and a gateway within His regional design. Like the ancient pathways spoken of in Jeremiah 6:16, Erie sits at a place of crossing, alignment, and decision. This is an invitation to see rightly, to agree boldly, and to pray from a place of alignment with heaven’s design.
As our prayer walks continue, you are invited to join as we focus on Erie as a gateway region. By God’s grace, we will continue to recover His original intent for this land and honor His glory.
So, we come with expectation.
With humility.
And with a readiness to realign.
Citations from Open AI: · Pennsylvania Geology (PA Geological Survey publications) · Colin Woodard, American Nations · Erie Maritime Museum · Penn State Behrend – regional history resources · Ronald E. Shaw, Erie Water West (canal & lake trade)
