Prayer vigil held at City Hall
By Catharin Shepard
Published in News on August 14, 2009 1:51 PM
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News-Argus/MITCH LOEBER
Keith Bonner, left, Teisha Bonner, lower center, James Jones, right, Eva Middleton, second from right, and Linda Raiford hold hands in prayer during the Community Empowerment Network Prayer Vigil for Life Thursday evening outside of Goldsboro City Hall.
In a time of financial distress for many people in Wayne County, some local community leaders and elected officials are turning to their faith for guidance.
About 40 people attended a Thursday prayer vigil outside Goldsboro City Hall to pray for an end to disparities in health care, education and the work force.
It was "a time of vigilance and unity," said pastor Dr. Kenneth Vaughn, president of the Wayne County chapter of the Community Empowerment Network.
CEN, a national non-profit organization dedicated to ending poverty in rural areas, initiated the prayer vigil in Goldsboro and others throughout the state that took place at the same time.
Vaughn advocated for those present to "utilize prayer as an essential weapon in the fight against disparity," he said.
Minister Steve Holder of Bethel Church offered prayers of guidance for federal, state and local government officials and prayers of protection for the nation's leaders, police officers and the military.
Sen. Don Davis spoke briefly to the group about the state budget crisis before offering his own prayers for the nation.
"What can we do, what should we do?" he said. "When the state is broke, then something's going on."
The country is facing some of the biggest challenges in generations, including the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, and at such a time people must turn to prayer, Davis said.
"That is why we're here, our soul, our faith," he said. "We come because we know it's not over."