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Praise & Prayer Weekly Update - 12/30/2025

Prayer at MBC

It is our desire to be available to support you every day of the week, not just Sunday mornings. If you are in need of prayer or would like to share a praise, please fill out the email request below.

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“I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.” ~Psalm 17:6​

Praise God:  

  • Praise God, Caroline and Jackson Pisano, daughter and son-in-law of Kim and John McCarthy, welcomed their son, Jackson Matthew, on December 27. Everyone is doing well. 
  • Praise God for the blessing that Millington has exceeded our year-end giving goal! 

  

For our MBC Family & Friends, please pray for:

  • Augie Lavornia requests prayer for a successful minimally invasive aortic valve replacement surgery with no complications.  Augie’s surgery is scheduled for January 7, 8am.  
  • Please continue to lift Andrew Strain in prayer as he continues his recovery following a liver transplant.
  • Please lift up the Achenbach family in prayer as Paul’s father enters hospice care. Pray that God would surround the family with peace, comfort, and strength during this difficult time.
  • Fred Finati has taken another fall. Please pray for Fred and Palma as they navigate this difficult season of life. 
  • Larry and Lois Ziemba have been fighting illness for a couple of weeks.  Please pray for healing.  
  • Please pray for Marie Lindgren’s recovery following extensive surgery. Pray that there will be no further complications and that she will be able to return home rather than go to a rehab facility. Please also lift up Gary as he cares for Marie. 
  • Please lift up the Lavender Family as Scott’s mom passed away. 
  • Long time member Mary Barnes went to be with the Lord on 12/13 at the age of 98.  There will be a celebration of life on March 21 at 10am.  Click HERE for the obituary.    
  • It is with deep sorrow to let you know that Margaret Hess passed away last week to be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please continue to lift Bob, Jamie, Madi, Trish and their families in prayer at this difficult time.  For those interested, details on services will be Saturday 1/3/2026. Click HERE for the obituary.   
  • Pray for Pat Fritz and her family in the passing of her mother, Mary Jane Cotterell last week at the age of 93. May they find comfort in knowing that Mary Jane is with Jesus, and Pat’s dad.  
  • Pray for the Gero Family as John’s sister and Uncle recently passed away. Please pray for comfort for the Gero family.    
  • Eric Tamashunas’s mother, Clara, has passed away last week. Please pray for comfort for the family.    
  • Dave Palmer fell and broke his hip on December 10th. He had a total hip replacement on 12/12. He is currently at a rehab facility in New Providence.  
  • Marianne Iandiorio’s capsule endoscopy showed no cause for her bleeding or anemia. Please pray that her blood levels stabilize so she can be cleared for aortic valve replacement in the New Year. She has additional blood work and a cardiology appointment on January 7. Marianne is also experiencing ongoing eye issues and will see her retina specialist on January 12. Please continue to pray for her health.   
  • Grace (Jinhua Guo) requests prayer for open doors and provide whatever she needs to take a class from Bo Karen in Princeton Theology School. Master listening skills from God. God provide new roles that alignment with God.   
  • Praise and continued prayer for the First Choice Supreme Court Hearing which seems to have gone very well. The decision will likely be rendered for some time between April and June. Pray for favor with the Supreme Court Justices and for an overwhelming victory for First Choice.   
  • Continue to pray for Marian Miller, she is receiving in home speech/cognitive therapy, PT & soon OT.  Also, she’s receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy each day for the post-concussion syndrome. Please continue to pray for grace, peace, strength, and complete healing for her. Pray for Bill as he cares for her.  They are thankful for your prayers as they see some improvements   
  • Barbara Ahles’s husband, Ken, is back in the ICU. Please pray for healing from the many health issues he is facing, and for wisdom for the doctors and medical staff caring for him. 
  • Please continue to pray for our expectant mothers,  Madi and Luke Prothero, Ruth Prothero’s son and daughter-in-law, due in late January.   Nelia and Ivan Jones, who are expecting their first child, a boy, due in February. 

Our Church:

  • Please pray for Pastor Bob Erbig as he prepares for our new Sunday series Upside Down Glory on 1/4/2026.   

Our nation & those in authority.

1 Timothy 2: 1-2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

  • Please pray for those in authority in our country. 
  • Pray for those in California recovering from the floods.

Our Extended Family & Friends:

  • Please pray for Bill Miller’s brother, Paul, who’s in the hospital. He has Guillain-Barre & is going through dialysis to reverse a severe reaction he had last week to treatment. He’s also being tested to see if the cancer has come back.  Please pray for him & his wife, Nancy, for his healing & their salvation. 
  • Pray for Robert Meleta’s sister-in-law, Cathy, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, had surgery on 12/26.  
  • Lift up Debra Witte’s preemie granddaughter, Lucia Glory Sibaja, and her health issues.  
  • Please pray for Pete, the husband of Lenore Tosi’s cousin. He recently underwent open-heart surgery—please pray for a smooth and speedy recovery. Please also lift him up as he mourns the passing of his mother this week, who had been struggling with Alzheimer’s.    
  • Matthew Bennet is asking for prayer for his uncle Rob. He is battling cancer and he is currently having his final rounds of chemo. Pray that he is healed.      

Missionary Partner for the week: Bo and Michelle Columbine in Senegal 

  • On Saturday, December 6th, we hosted a Christmas outreach at our house for 50 of our Senegalese friends. It was a beautiful time of food and fellowship. The Gospel and the reason we celebrate the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ were presented clearly by the pastor of the WorldVenture church plant here in Dakar. The presentation was in Wolof, and in a way that their culture can understand. We also gave each in attendance a small book in Wolof called “The Birth of the Messiah.” It contains passages of Scripture that tell the Christmas story from both the New and Old Testaments.  
  • Pray that the seeds planted will grow in the hearts of those who heard and that they will read the scriptures we have given out. 

Persecuted Church: Threats at Christmas

Due to increasing threats from Islamist rebel groups following a military coup in July 2023, Christians in Niger are taking extra precautions during the Christmas season. “It’s very dangerous,” said a Christian leader. “Actually, we are stopping celebrating in the night.” Previously, Christians would hold evening services, and young church members would sing Christmas songs through the streets before celebrating in homes. The Nigerien church leader added that, in the past, their Muslim neighbors would often wish them a happy Christmas. Now, however, Muslim neighbors are told it is a sin to say, “Merry Christmas.” He added that one Christian community had been planning to conduct a free medical clinic in their town, but now officials are demanding bribes for permission. The leader said, “We are going to talk to God, and he’ll find a way for these innocent people to be treated and see the love of Jesus.”

Would you like your prayer request to remain active longer?

Prayer requests will remain active for two weeks. If you would like your request to continue please update by contacting us here or via a connection card on Sunday. All long-term prayer requests (chronic illnesses) will remain active for one month. If you would like your request to continue, please update by contacting us here or via a connection card on Sunday.

 

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