Super Bowl LX: An Opportunity to Pray and Raise Awareness
As half a million people travel to San Francisco for Super Bowl LX (February 8th), the New Wineskins Anglican Freedom Network calls for prayer.
What if the thousands of people who gather for high-profile sporting events like the Super Bowl could become a force for good?
This is the question that Sarah de Carvalho, CEO and founder of the non-profit It’s a Penalty, asked over twenty-five years ago. At that time, she was working with children in Brazil and saw the problem of human trafficking in a deeply personal way when she met a young woman named Rose.
Today, It’s a Penalty runs global awareness campaigns during major sporting events, reaching an average of 180 million people per campaign. These campaigns feature the familiar faces of sports stars from all over the world. Right now, in the run-up to this year’s Super Bowl, Tutu Atwell from the Los Angeles Rams, Kyle Arrington, a Super Bowl champion, and Collette V. Smith, the NFL’s first black female coach, are using their platforms as NFL stars to shed light on the problem of human trafficking while serving as sports ambassadors with this organization.
According to It’s a Penalty, sporting events like the Super Bowl, the Olympics & Paralympics, UEFA Euros, and FIFA World Cup don’t create human trafficking outright, but they can amplify existing trafficking patterns and displace them geographically. Research shows that the influx of visitors often shifts trafficking activities rather than significantly increasing their overall prevalence. These events attract large crowds and offer a perfect opportunity to raise awareness about human trafficking as a year-round problem. In addition to partnerships with sports ambassadors, It’s a Penalty also joins forces with the travel, hospitality, and tourism sector, law enforcement, NGOs, and government bodies to call attention to this global issue.
What if thousands of people who know Jesus and know that all humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and are precious to Him, prayed to end human trafficking?
JI Packer once said, "The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God's hand, but a humble acknowledgement of helplessness and dependance." In the face of the evils of human trafficking, we know we are utterly dependent on God to move hearts, change minds, and rescue victims. As Super Bowl LX draws near, join the Anglican Freedom Network in praying for the following:
Effectiveness of the It’s a Penalty campaign to bring greater awareness to the problem of human trafficking.
Ease of access to the San Francisco Bay Area Human Trafficking Hotline, and for those who receive those calls to respond with all that is needed.
Protection of Safety 4 the Bay (a Bay-area-wide safety and reporting resource) that connects individuals to confidential support, reporting options, and local services.
Guidance and protection for potential victims as they connect with resources.
Guidance and protection for observers who make reports.
Law enforcement who serve in the area over Super Bowl Weekend.
Use the list above as prayer prompts that you pray over every day through the Super Bowl on February 8. Ask the Lord for his creative solutions, wisdom, and provision for each of these challenges. The Anglican Freedom Network prioritizes prayer because it helps align our hearts and minds with the Lord’s priorities.
Join the Anglican Freedom Network
The Anglican Freedom Network (AFN) is a group of concerned individuals and organizations dedicated to the cause of eliminating human trafficking and human slavery worldwide through collaboration, resource sharing, training, and prayer. We are building our team through our AFN webpage and our Facebook group. We are part of the New Wineskins Missions Network, a mission-mobilizing non-profit ministry that exists to advance the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth. Working primarily through the Anglican Communion worldwide, New Wineskins facilitates collaboration and inspires mission engagement through resources, partnerships, networks, prayer, and mission conferences. Check out our Resource Page.
Contact Anthea Kotlan for more information.
As a recovering perfectionist with a love for coffee and tea, Anthea Kotlan has dedicated over a decade to serving her Diocese as a women’s ministry leader. Her desire to see women leaders receive training and encouragement led her to join the Women’s Leadership Network team under the Next Generation Leadership Initiative with the ACNA (Anglican Church in North America). She hosts a monthly online gathering for women lay leaders as part of her work there.
In 2015, her awareness of the problem of human trafficking led to the formation of a group at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in Spring, Texas. This group met monthly for five years to pray. They also hosted various awareness events and partnered with Houston-area anti-human trafficking organizations to raise funds. Once a year, this group hosted a Prayer Service on Super Bowl Sunday, bringing people from multiple parishes and the local area together to intercede and worship.
Anthea writes, blogs, and speaks about soul tending and discipleship, with a focus on the Psalms, at www.antheakotlan.com. She is a proud mother to two incredible adult daughters, wife to a bi-vocational Anglican priest, and grandmother to three wonderful grandchildren. She serves on a church plant team with her husband at All Saints in Conroe, Texas.
