From the start, the PCA 50th Anniversary Committee wanted to mark the denomination’s anniversary with prayer. After all, prayer figured prominently in the denomination’s key moments in 1973.

On May 19, 1973, 450 ruling elders from 261 churches representing 70,800 members joined together in the sanctuary of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, for a convocation of presbyters or sessions. The gathering was a key moment in the forming of the new denomination that officially launched in December 1973.

But before the meeting took place, Presbyterians held a 48-hour prayer vigil to lift the Convocation of Sessions before the Lord and ask for his guidance.

To mark the 50th anniversary of this meeting, the PCA has designated May 21, 2023, as a Day of Prayer.

The PCA 50th Anniversary Committee has compiled resources to help churches mark the day with thanks for how the Lord has sustained the denomination over the past 50 years and supplication for his continued blessing. There is a prayer guide on the PCA 50th anniversary site that offers prayer requests and specific items of thanks. 

And just as in in 1973, there will also be a prayer vigil on May 21; members can sign up for a 15-minute slot to offer their personal prayers on behalf of the PCA, covering the day in round-the-clock prayer.. 

Sue Pitzer serves on the 50th Anniversary Committee’s subcommittee on prayer. She said the anniversary committee “wanted to foster a culture of prayer and praise akin to what took place in 1973.”  

The Day of Prayer is also an opportunity for PCA lay leaders to once again take the lead in denominational matters, just as they did in 1973. Ken McHeard, a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Augusta and member of the 50th Anniversary Committee, noted that ruling elders played a vital role in the Convocation of Sessions. 

McHeard reached out to presbyteries to make them aware of the Day of Prayer and encourage elder participation.

“We want to communicate to our ruling elder brothers that we need them, and our denomination is served by their participation at the national level,” he said.

The prayer vigil sign-up form allows users to see who else will be praying and to leave words of encouragement.

“My prayer is that the Lord would raise us up once again to follow the legacy of prayer at the beginning of the denomination and that the PCA would never lose that vision,” Pitzer said. “It’s his church, and it will prevail.”