Joyful Aglow ‘Army’ Invades Capital

by Janae Lovern, Aglow Conference Director

In anticipation of Aglow’s upcoming 59th Conference, held in Washington, D.C., this month’s Aglow History article peeks into the past to the year 1983, to the same city of Washington, D.C., in which Aglow held its 9^th ever conference.

The January/February 1984 issue of Aglow Magazine featured an article about the 9^th conference in which 5,500 women gathered in the Washington Hilton hotel…50 conferences and 43 years before our own US National Conference this September at the Capital Hilton hotel.

Enjoy the writing from page 17 of the magazine and begin praying with me about all that the Lord will do once again in and through Aglow at this year’s conference, in which we not only gather for the 59th year as a ministry family, but also gather to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of our great nation.

“It was a peaceful invasion, but an invasion, nonetheless, as literally thousands of Aglow women poured into the Washington Hilton for the Ninth International Conference. Whether it was the Silent Prayer Walk around the city on Friday, or the sharing of some major or minor miracle, nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of this joyful volunteer ‘army.’

The women walked in twos and threes. Some in larger groups. Hundreds hailed cabs (quickly depleting the long line outside the Hilton), while others hurried down Connecticut Avenue to catch the Metro downtown and their selected destinations. Their assignment, as had been explained by President Jane Hansen, was to pray quietly for the city of Washington, for the United States and its leaders, as well as for the other nations of the world.

Even though women from more than 40 nations were among the approximately 5,500 persons attending, Jane asked all to pray for the United States because of the significant role it plays in the survival of a free world.

The Prayer Walk was memorable for all who took part. Some women stood quietly outside buildings and asked God’s wisdom and protection for those inside. Others, like Barbara Kogut of Enfield, Connecticut, and her friends from the Warehouse Point Aglow, zeroed in on the Capitol.

‘We walked the hallways and prayed quietly,’ she said. ‘We sat in the galleries of both houses and prayed as we pictured the hand of God coming down on each head.’ Others had reports of powerful watches outside the White House, of visits to the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments, and of spiritual warfare conducted outside the Supreme Court.

Whether interceding as prayer warriors at the Capitol or talking about Jesus with a hotel clerk or chambermaid during the 3 ½ day November conference, the Aglow women shared their witness. It seemed everyone had a story to tell, a favorite being how God had miraculously provided the money for the trip. As the Conference progressed, the fervor and joy the women felt seemed to rub off on all those they met. There were the taxi cab drivers who praised the Lord right along with their Aglow riders; the incredulous driver of one sightseeing bus, who received a donation of money form a group of Aglow passengers when they found he was short a certain number of tickets and would have to pay them himself; the night clerk, who wound up taking the two Aglow Prayer Diaries home to his mother; the cab driver, who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit; the waiter, who knelt down and accepted Jesus during the closing breakfast Sunday morning.

The miracles continued even as the delegates headed home to various parts of the country and the world. The final one involved Flight 299 out of Dallas, heading for Sacramento. When the main engine of the plane went out, and the auxiliary failed to function, the large contingent of Aglow women aboard began a prayer and praise session, asking God to bring the craft in safely. He did, making the fire trucks and emergency equipment waiting on the runway unnecessary.

When the plane finally came to a full stop, the grateful pilot announced over the public address system, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Praise the Lord!’”