Success Kills the Prayer Line
Episcopal News Service. June 16, 1977 [77211]
New York, N.Y. -- From Ash Wednesday to the Feast of Pentecost, Episcopalians throughout the United States joined Presiding Bishop John M. Allin in prayer over a telephone network that was so successful it had to be closed down.
The prayer line, in which interested parties could dial a toll-free number and hear Bishop Allin lead prayer and ask intercession for the concerns or thanksgiving of groups and individuals, was initiated through the work of the Episcopal Church Center's Evangelism and Renewal staff officer, the Rev. A. Wayne Schwab. Callers were invited to write to Bishop Allin, Fr. Schwab or diocesan evangelism officers with requests for prayers which Bishop Allin then incorporated into his two-minute message.
Originally, the recorded prayer was to be changed once a week and the line was tentatively scheduled to be in use through Easter week. But the response -- both in terms of requests for prayer and callers -- was so overwhelming that format, costs and use quickly escalated.
Church groups sought prayer for meetings and special concerns and Bishop Allin labored to incorporate the committee, commission and diocesan meetings in which he is involved into the prayers. Individuals asked prayer for friends and family who were sick or troubled and asked the Church to join in giving thanks for happy events in their lives.
"The requests were highly personal and reflected the full range of things that Episcopalians and all Christians are concerned with," said Fr. Schwab, "from the world crises that concern us all to an individual's concern for a loved one who is struggling with faith. "
In an effort to respond to these concerns, Bishop Allin began recording messages to be aired twice a week and then even more frequently and the tentative schedule was expanded to keep the line in use at least to Pentecost.
In making room in his schedule for the recording sessions, Bishop Allin had high praise for the line: "I am deeply thankful for this opportunity to respond to individuals throughout the Church. The critical thing about this line is that it allows each of us, wherever we are in this house, to hear and respond to the needs of others through the most powerful vehicle there is: prayer. In prayer, we can hold up our concerns and brush aside our differences to share with the Lord in his mission."
Apparently vast numbers of Episcopalians agreed with the Presiding Bishop because use of the line soon outstripped the meager budget that had been set aside for it.
One of the earliest indications that this would happen occurred when the Church Center was swamped with phone calls from New Yorkers who claimed they could not get the line. Investigation showed that such WATS lines are "blacked out" to the home territory in much the same way that sporting events used to be blacked out to area television. This was corrected with the installation of a third line, to serve the New York area.
A telephone company survey taken just eight days into the line's existence showed that 256 callers had called the number in a 24-hour period -- over ten calls an hour. A second survey -- in Mid April -- showed a slight drop, but from then on use kept climbing until the line was averaging well over 88 hours of use a month. Church Center officials estimated that, in the period from Feb. 23 through March 31, more than 7, 500 calls were completed.
Unfortunately, the response and contact that generated such use also raised the costs. The line had been originally estimated to cost $60 a week and a total of about $1,500 was alloted. By mid-May, the costs had accelerated to about $1,200 a week and the response was still growing. Despite the fact that many callers had also sent contributions, the decision had to be made to cut off the service at the Feast of Pentecost.
Although the service has had to close down, it is not certain that this will be the end of it. Church groups are exploring alternative systems and possible 1978 budget support to replace or expand this service, the popularity and success of which killed it.