The upcoming AsOne Prayer Walk is more than just an annual event, according to Jeremy Wright, founder and executive director of AsOne Fellowship.
“We are a unity movement that brings our community together under the umbrella of prayer,” he said.
Founded in 2013 and held every spring, Wright says the event is an effort to foster interdenominational unity.
“It was actually inspired by the need to see us more connected as the body of Christ.”
At its height, the event saw nearly 10,000 participants and though some questioned whether anything was truly being accomplished, Wright stayed steady.
“I’d say we’re learning to walk with people we may not agree with, and that’s a start.”
He believes that it’s hard to hate something you know, but easier to discard or dislike something you know nothing about.
Post-pandemic, there was a dramatic drop in attendance. Wright attributes this to what he describes as shifting cultural, social, and church habits as well as increased social and political division.
“Church is different since the pandemic. People got accustomed to doing church online, not necessarily being there or volunteering,” Wright explained. Still, he believes prayer is the answer.
“The pandemic and politics pulled us apart, but prayer will bring us together,” he shared, leaning into the alliteration.
This year, Wright intends to keep it simple. There won’t be the same performances and extra activities that previous years have featured.
“We’re just taking it back to the basics,” he shared. “We’re not doing the concerts and full-day events right now. We want to get back to unifying the body.” Wright hopes this will accomplish two things: refocus participants on prayer, and pave the way for upcoming changes.
On May 18, he plans to announce a new direction for future AsOne prayer walks.
“Next year we’re doing something totally different. We’ll roll that out the day after the walk.”
He hopes that the future of AsOne Prayer Walks will continue to inspire not only locals, but others nationwide, adding that he wants people to hear of the event and think, “If they can do it in Fayetteville, we can do it too. That’s what we want others to see.”
The walk will begin at Festival Park before transitioning to the Veterans Memorial, where Wright says they’ll “pray everything military.” The next stop is City Hall, where participants will pray for the government, the detention center, law enforcement, and crime rates. After City Hall, they’ll move to the Market House and pray for social issues, economic issues, diversity, and racial unity. From there, participants will move to the library and pray for education, children and homelessness. Then, they’ll transition back to the park and pray for spiritual leadership.
Wright hopes that community members will join and pray for unity.
“I just believe that we have to see something different than what we’ve been seeing in our country over the last few years in terms of us being such a divided group,” he shared. “In spite of all that’s going on in our country, if a group of people in Fayetteville, North Carolina, are getting together in spite of their differences to pray to the one true God, I think that we can share that with the world.”
The event will be held Saturday, May 17 and early arrival is encouraged. The park opens at 8 a.m., music and worship are from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and the walk begins at 9:30 a.m.. Visit asoneprayerwalk.org for more information. Festival Park is located at 335 Ray Avenue in Fayetteville.