There's a great idea floating around on some of the Russian adoption blogs, and if you haven't seen it yet, I want to bring it to your attention: A call for prayer on Sunday, April 15, that Russia will begin to issue re-accreditations.

In case you are new to the world of Russian adoption, Moscow has, since 2004, been thrashing out new rules. Things seem to move forward, then stop and another requirement gets added to the list. The changes are, as I have written, needed and necessary, and not only because Russia is moving to bring its adoption procedures in line with the Hague Convention On Intercountry Adoption. There have been too many people operating as agents for adoption in Russia who shouldn't have been there, witness the action taken by Minnesota against Reaching Arms International last Friday. The welfare of children born in Russia has to be paramount--whether they are staying in that country or coming to live in a new one.

But the longer that Russia drags out the revisions to its rules, the longer it takes to issue the key accreditation documents, the greater the chance that it will wind up hurting adoption, not helping it. In early March, I wrote about an appeal from the National Council For Adoption for Russia to put an end to the delays and get adoptions moving again.

Nothing has gotten the ball rolling yet, which was perhaps why Debbie's post on her blog "Family Reunion" caught my eye. She credits a blogger named Penny, who I don’t know, with starting the idea, which is quite simple: At 4:15 p.m. Central Standard Time on Sunday, April 15 (or 4/15/07), say a prayer for the speedy issuance of accreditation to all waiting adoption agencies.

Debbie and her husband are among the many families whose adoption plans have been stalled by the changes in Russia. The timeline on her blog indicates that they have been working on bringing a child home from Russia since late 2005. They have every right to be tearing their hair out by now (or their shrubs, as I did).

But prayer is infinitely more positive, and even though Debbie says the date was picked at random, it too seems to have a positive cast. On the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, it is both the feast of St. Thomas and Resurrection Sunday. The church Web site notes that some people refer to this saint as Doubting Thomas. But the traditional Slavonic inscription of his icon is "The Belief of Thomas."

So on Sunday, let's all believe that our prayers can come together to revive and renew adoption in Russia. I've asked the rector of my church, who is an adoptive parent, to ask our congregation to add their prayers. And if prayer is not your thing, find a way to make a silent request that Moscow moves things along.