2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims in what is now Massachusetts. The brave men and women sailed for more than two months from Europe to hopefully find a new land where they would be free to exercise their faith without the persecution they had experienced in England.
Carter Conlon, Pastor at Times Square Church in New York City, believes the landing of the Mayflower and the fragile colony they founded in the face of many dangers – all for the sake of freedom to believe in God, their way - was also the beginning of America, spiritually speaking.
But there is a major problem he believes is unresolved spiritually: “God gave us freedom and then we took a whole race of people and took away their freedom and made them slaves.”
Pastor Conlon, through an unusual series of events that he believes were orchestrated by God, is totally convinced it is critical to the future of the United States to take a moment to stop and pray at Plymouth where it all began. But he’s not talking about a routine prayer. He’s talking about targeted prayer asking God to forgive our country for a number of specific things that grieve God, major among them, human slavery, which came early to the young land.
“I believe this is a wound that goes so deep that I think that only God can heal it."
We asked Pastor Conlon if he believes some of the struggles that are taking place today, such as unrest, the pandemic, and the economy, have a spiritual component to them? “Oh, totally! I think in God’s mercy, he will do what he has to do to get ahold of us.” Unpacking this thought, Conlon explains, “One of the founding sins of America” was slavery. “God gave us freedom and then we took a whole race of people and took away their freedom and made them slaves.” He believes one of the reasons “we have so much difficulty in our cities today” is the result of slavery in early America. “I believe this is a wound that goes so deep that I think that only God can heal it. And the worst part of this, Richard, is that in some parts of the country we did this in the name of God.”
Pastor Conlon is calling for sincere repentance and a heartfelt request to God for forgiveness. That is why he is committed to pray on October 6th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Eastern time. The prayer will be online, free to anyone who wants to watch, with no registration needed. And the prayer will be initiated from a home in Plymouth, Massachusetts that is believed to be at the very place the Pilgrims gathered to pray. Conlon is convinced this is a “do or die” moment for our country.
You can take part in the prayer at:
https://tsc.nyc/webcasts/tuesday-7pm/
https://www.youtube.com/user/TimesSquareChurch
https://www.facebook.com/timessquarechurch/
We encourage you to listen to our full interview below with Pastor Conlon, where he will explain the unlikely way God called him to launch this desperate prayer for America.
