Our first Boiler Room in North America, Calgary's urban monastery [um], is launching in the ski, skating and snowboarding capital this Sunday January 30 - and they're well organised having already started up their website: 

 

 www.urbanmonastery.ca

 

Here's all the details from [um] team leaders Paul and Corey Wegenast

 

"The past 2 years of hosting prayer rooms and patiently building relationships with others who share like hearts for prayer has led to this date at the end of January. The urban monastery is about to launch into ‘phase one’ - a committed core community of urban monks, a permanent boiler room of prayer and a partnership with a justice ministry in the city.

 

The new location for the boiler room of prayer has been confirmed. A 700 square foot room in the basement of St. Paul’s Church in downtown Calgary, one block off of the popular 17th Ave SW (recently dubbed ‘the red mile’) has been made available.

 

The Jesus Loves You Society has a Family Outreach Centre housed in this facility. [um] and epic community are partners with JLYS, providing volunteer staffing to help homeless and poor families with young children to receive a dinner, food hamper, and pre-school clothing.

 

British Wild Goose flies to Canada
A core team for the urban monastery has been solidified in these past 3 months. Currently there are 9 young adults, plus Corey and Paul, on this team. The [um] core are first and foremost called to walk out an urban monk lifestyle and second, to carry out responsibilities in the  values of [um] which are prayer, community, creativity, justice, mission, and pilgrimage.

 

We also have our first ‘wild goose’ visiting us from the UK. Laura Bradish is a young woman doing a 6 month internship with 24-7 Boiler rooms. Three of those months she is spending here in Calgary. Laura will help with [um] set-up as well as spend many hours in the boiler room of prayer, volunteer in the Family Outreach Centre and help [um] staff member Sherry Victor teaching at the Stoney Indian Reserve.

Keep the Calgary Flame of prayer burning

The big question is “…how can I get involved?” If you are local please come to the launch and make time spent in the prayer room a rhythm in your life. Please pray for us as we launch this house of prayer, we have definitely sensed the opposition and know that God is in the process of releasing His love.

Corey adds that pilgrims have hospitality and nice hot coffee to look forward to when they visit :

"As the [um] launches, I look forward to all the pilgrims who will be visiting us. I love this generation and so many are calling to ask if they can come to Calgary to pray. COME!! I have a new espresso machine and we’ll have a latte and a good chat – and probably a cry too – and we will be amazed at the greatness of our God."