“My hope is that the people who attend the breakfast will respond to the challenge of a different way of seeing who our neighbour is.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Hundreds of Christians from across the National Capital Region are gathering, on October 30, for the annual Ottawa Civic Prayer Breakfast. The event honours Ottawa’s municipal politicians and first responders.

“It’s a significant event for the Church,” says master of ceremonies, Gerry Organ. “We see it as a pillar event for the Church that we declare we have the responsibility and the joy of lifting up, in prayer, those in authority.”

Organ describes the prayer breakfast as a celebratory environment where believers from across the body of Christ can enjoy fellowship together and pray for God’s continued blessing on the city.

“As believers, we have a scriptural mandate to love the city we are in. I think most people who attend get that. It’s a bit of a party, as well. We have people from many different denominations and theological perspectives gathering together to celebrate one thing: the God of this city.”

Since its inception, five years ago, the prayer breakfast has also featured the theme, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Organ explains that after the first breakfast, organizers decided there was no better focus than exploring the idea of loving your neighbour, from the scriptural parable of the Good Samaritan. The theme stuck and become a sort of prayer breakfast brand, he says.

“’Who is your neighbour’ can be expanded to all people,” Organ states. “We’ve had a number of speakers over the years and they’re invited to interpret that theme any way they choose.”

This year’s speaker is Ed Wilson, executive director of International Justice Mission Canada (IJM).

“IJM is a great ministry and we are looking forward to hearing what Ed Wilson shares. I think Ed’s message will perhaps shock, but certainly stir and encourage people to be engaged in confronting the issues of poverty and injustice they encounter.”

Wilson says the biggest reason Christians should be concerned with the welfare of the poor is that God is concerned for the poor.

“My hope is that the people who attend the breakfast will respond to the challenge of a different way of seeing who our neighbour is,” Wilson explains. “The focus of this breakfast may be on local issues, but local caring leads to global caring. I want to turn the question ‘Who is my neighbour’ around, just as Jesus did in the parable of the Good Samaritan, to ask the question, ‘who am I called to be a neighbour to.’”

Through his message, Wilson hopes to encourage believers not to rely on agencies alone to be God’s hands, caring for the needy and sharing the gospel. Although agencies, like IJM, play important roles, he emphasizes that God also requires His people to respond to needs in a personal way.

“It means we need to be prepared to intervene in the moment of need of the person God puts in our pathway, like in the story of the Good Samaritan. It begins with a choice to not look away. We all have good excuses not to get involved, just as the priest and the Levite did, but I want to inspire people to action, to step beyond their comfort zone and really engage with their neighbours.”