Several thousand expected

to pray for Northwest at

Mount Ashland Aug. 13-15

   ASHLAND — A particularly strong favorable response from Native American communities throughout the region indicates a high turnout of attenders Aug. 13-15 when the second Prayer Mountain Northwest event takes place at Mount Ashland.
     Dennis Dickson of Grants Pass, a pastor who organized the first such event on Mount Bachelor six years ago, said he and other leaders in this new event are literally “hourly” seeing God’s hand in the planning.
    “We are seeing more divine evidence on this than anything I’ve been involved with in 30 years of ministry,” he said.
     Dickson estimated that several thousand people will take part in the gathering, which starts Friday at 6 p.m. and continues non-stop until a closing communion service and celebration Sunday morning.
     Deliberately placed this time at a site with easy accessibility off Interstate 5, Prayer Mountain Northwest is designed to have no prominent names speaking or leading, but simply to be a declaration of the region’s need for revival. Organizers say an important emphasis this time will be to extend love and reconcilation to the Northwest’s indigenous peoples, humbly acknowledging wrongs committed over the year to the tribes as increased non-Native settlement took place.
     Dickson recently joined John Sutton and Aaron Auer of ROAR (Restoring Oregon’s Amazing Roots) ministries in traveling the region as far away as Montana to enlist participation of Native tribes in the gathering. Many plan to do attend.
    “They have graciously embraced what we are doing, have given us their approval,” he said.
     Dickson said a wide range of non-Native intercessory prayer groups also will be coming.
    “It’s a great coalition of people that are seeking God ... We’re setting ourselves apart this long weekend before the mountain to really present ourselves before the Lord and petition Him for what He wants done in our area,” said Dickson.
     A recent change in the schedule is that a re-enactment of the “Macedonian Call to the West” — the early 1800s trek that several Nez Perce and Flathead Indians made to St. Louis, Mo., in search of the “Book of Heaven” that prompted Jason Lee and other missionaries to bring the Bible to Oregon Country — will take place Saturday night rather than Friday as first planned.
    “It will be re-enacted in full regalia and costume and put on YouTube worldwide,” said Dickson.
     The gathering area, including the stage and the parking area, are all at the same level at the base of the mountain. So this will not require participants to ride a chair lift, unlike the 2004 event at Mount Bachelor. However, a chair lift up Mount Ashland will be available for those interested in sightseeing, for an all-day pass of $5
     Dickson said refreshments will be for sale at the site, but participants also are welcome to bring their own food.
     For complete information on the event, including admission fees, go to prayermountainnw.com.