ECBLA Annual Prayer Breakfasts

Erie Christian Business Leaders Annual Prayer Breakfasts 2015-2023ECBLA

This Prayer Breakfast, with it’s networking opportunities, has advanced a unique unity of purpose between city and county officials, first responders, county and federal judges, government leaders, inner-city as well as urban pastors, business leaders and others of all societal distinctions. The growing public expression of communitywide faith and trust in Jesus Christ and the mobilization inspired by it has truly been only something God could do!

Annual Prayer Breakfast 2023

 

Thanks to Erin O’Shea Holcomb of Brightside Media for all the photos!

 

Resumed Annual Prayer Breakfast 2022

Big news! The Erie Christian Business Leaders Annual Prayer Breakfast is back. We met in the Ambassador Conference Center, October 7, 2022! Much gratitude to Pastor Luke Danowski for stepping in at the last minute and doing a superb job as MC! We bid farewell to EDDC President John Persinger as he leaves Erie to pursue new horizons with his wife’s family in Australia.
“Bless the Lord all you His hosts, you His ministers who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord all His works in all place of His dominion; bless the Lord, Oh my soul” (Psalm 103:21-22)!

Virtual Prayer Breakfast 2020

The Erie Christian Business Leaders Virtual Prayer Breakfast was held on the morning of November 7, 2020. Thanks to WCTL for producing the Face Book live event! You are invited to watch here and pray along with the requests and prayers offered by these community leaders:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=685851505663495

Grace Church Worship Band – Apostle Anita McCoy, Field of Dreams Harvest Ministry – Kathy Dahlkemper, Erie County Executive – Chief Darren Hart, Erie Fire Dept. – Sergeant Tom Lenox, Erie Police Dept. – Pastor Matt Judd, Glenwood UMC – Business owner Cindy Ring, The Cakery – Pastor Keith McGarvey, S. Harborcreek UMC – Mike Whitney, Erie OCY – Pastor Rick Massey, Acts 2:42 Bible Fellowship – Superintendent Richard Scaletta, General McLane Schools – Minister Geoffrey Lyons, Antioch Baptist – Pastor Darnell Hemphill, Grace2Grace Church – Pastor Charles Mock, Community Missionary Baptist Church – Charlotte Berringer, Erie County Dept of Health – Pastor Dennis Horne, Wayne Park Baptist – Emily Shears, Epidemiologist UPMC – Apostle Kevin Nelson, Abundant Life Church of Erie – Closing – Iglesia De Dios de la Profecia Worship Band. Thanks to WCTL and Pastor Matt Judd of Glenwood UMC for making this possible!

Annual Prayer Breakfast 2019

The 2019 breakfast was a meaningful time of connection and unity in the body of Christ when about 400 leaders in our community met with Kevin Palau over a two-day period. Kevin, CEO of the Louis Palau evangelistic organization spoke with key leaders at a luncheon. At the main breakfast, he encouraged us to celebrate and accelerate in reaching out with the gospel of Christ. We see the Lord moving in Erie and are excited about continuing to reach our city and county with the good news of Christ! Interested? Go to citygospelmovements.org.

Annual Prayer Breakfast 2018

In 2018 the Erie Christian business leaders were excited to host pastor, businessman and founder of 4Tucson, Mark Harris. Mark spoke with Erie leaders at a luncheon and was the keynote speaker at the annual prayer breakfast. 4Tucson was created to develop a targeted, unapologetically Christian model designed for city transformation. Marks book, You Are the Light of Your City, explains how Tucson is addressing their most difficult and systemic problems by uniting Christians to envision and implement biblical solutions. ECBLA is exploring how this model might make a pathway for biblical solutions and true transformation in Erie! Check out the web site 4Tucson.com.

Annual Prayer Breakfast 2017

2017 – Jon Katov, founder of the Open Table, spoke at the 2017 breakfast. From this has grown a unique collaboration of leaders in the government, business and faith communities to combat poverty in our city. Katov says, “We not only battle generational poverty but perhaps even more we need to battle generational judgment. Too much intellectual capital is being wasted.” theopentable.org.

Annual Prayer Breakfast 2016

2016 – Antwan Randel El of the Pittsburgh Steelers was the keynote speaker at the 2016 breakfast he brought an encouraging word for all who work with impoverished youth.

Annual Prayer Breakfast 2015

In 2015 the first city wide event to follow Rock the Lakes was a Prayer Breakfast. The Prayer Breakfast was keynoted by assistant district attorney Marshall Piccinini. 80 people were expected but 280 community leaders came to pray together! UnifiedErie: a 3-pronged violence reduction initiative was introduced to the group. Over the years, the initiative has proven to be stunningly successful in reducing the violent crime in our city. Go to UnifiedErie.org to learn more.

Holy Confession

The Holy Confessions is prayed at each annual ECBLA prayer Breakfast. 

Our Father, which art in Heaven, we have gathered in unity to hold sacred Your Holy Name.  As individuals, as Your church and as a city…

We believe You have created this city and its people to worship You and enjoy You forever. We confess we are guilty of creating our own kingdoms instead of trusting Yours. We understand we will find fulfillment not in what we create, but only in the one for whom we have been created. We therefore declare: We want You more than anything.

We believe that Jesus died on a cross and pours out His Holy Spirit to make Himself known through His church. We confess that we have been preoccupied with building our own churches in Your Name instead of laying down our lives to build Yours.  Instead of allowing our hearts to be broken by what breaks Yours, we have placed limitations on Your dominion and power in our lives, walking by sight, not by faith. We understand You created your church to be a covenant community and an expression of your resurrection power, yet our disobedience has created broken relationships and competing programs. We therefore declare: We will no longer compete to be served, but we will serve, no matter the cost, so that Your destiny for both this city and Your church will arrive.

We believe that following Jesus always brings us to the isolated, devastated and the poor. We understand that as Your church we have been too busy and too fearful to boldly share “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” We confess that we have grown content with recruiting other church members in place of loving the godless and the helpless. We have substituted attractive information for powerful transformation. We therefore declare: Together we will passionately live out resurrection life and we will boldly reveal Jesus in both our actions and our words.

We believe this is the time for a new outpouring of Your Holy Spirit causing us to awaken to Your presence, Your power and Your passion. We understand that we must now be compelled to hear Your voice and replicate Your heart. We therefore, with one voice declare, “May we decrease and You increase. May we cease seeking to build our kingdoms in Your Name. May our hearts be broken by what breaks Yours. May You alone be the center. May we stop worshiping idols, human and material. With undivided hearts, may You be our only reason, our only purpose, our only motive; that united in You, the world will know You. For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”