Day of Prayer Thursday
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on May 1, 2016 1:45 AM
Wayne County residents will gather Thursday at the Family Y to pray for the community, the United States and the world with one voice.
The sixth annual Wayne County observance of the National Day of Prayer will start at 7 p.m. and lasts about an hour and 15 minutes.
"The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for us to seek the wisdom of God, as our founding fathers did in making difficult decisions," said day of prayer task force member Linda Greenwood. "The Wayne County observance of National Day of Prayer enables us to come before God and seek his guidance and grace through prayer. We are able to pray for our leaders, our county, our state, and our nation. This gathering is a unifying vehicle -- it transcends differences and brings together individuals from all backgrounds, races and ages."
Ms. Greenwood said National Day of Prayer helps people come back to being one nation under God, as it is in the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I think we tend to get away from the Christian principles that our country was founded upon," she said.
The past couple of years, about 300 people have attended the day of prayer event in Wayne County.
The event will begin with welcoming comments by Kriquette Davis with the Family Y and a song.
Mayor Chuck Allen will give the welcome, followed by a call to worship by Messianic Rabbi Madison.
The speaker will be Jim Steele, chairman of the local C-12 group, a group of CEOs and businessmen who work together to help bring Christianity to the workplace.
Then eight local people will pray in eight areas -- government by Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce, military by Lt. Col. Pam Townsend-Atkins, media by Wes Johnson with WHFL, business by Mac Sullivan with Pate Dawson, education by Wendy Hicks, an ESL teacher at Spring Creek School, church by pastor Lynn Epps with Rosewood Worship Center, family by Bill de Araujo, a physician and father of three, and Kaela Coles, a student at Eastern Wayne High School.
The prayers will be followed by a youth song and a congregational song.
There will also be an interpreter at the event for the deaf people in the audience.
Ms. Greenwood said the event ended up being held outside last year because of fumes from a leak at the Family Y.
"But it turned out to be such a blessing," she said.
"So we're intentionally going to be outside this year," said Linda Meyer, also with the task force. "But if we have to move inside because of weather, we will."
This year's theme is "Wake Up America." The national slogan is taken from Isaiah 58:1: "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet."
"This is a crucial time for our national with it being an election year," Ms. Greenwood said. "There's no more important time for prayer than this."
The event is for both children and adults, singles and families.
"If you love America and are concerned about America, we need you to come and be part of this group," Ms. Meyer said.
National Day of Prayer has a lot of history behind it.
In 1775, the first day of prayer was declared when the Continental Congress designated a time for prayer in forming a new nation.
But 1783, the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, marked a temporary end to the national day of prayer.
George Washington proclaimed a day of public thanksgiving and prayer in 1795, and President James Madison proclaimed a day of prayer in 1813.
It was in 1863 that Abraham Lincoln signed a congressional resolution that called for a day of fasting and prayer during the Civil War. And in 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the designation of the first Thursday of May as the annual observance for national day of prayer.