In conjunction with the National Day of Prayer May 3, the privately-funded Christian Community Organization invites citizens of Columbus and surrounding areas to join in an observance Thursday outside the Lowndes County Courthouse at 502 Second Ave. N.
Music will begin the rain-or-shine observance at noon, with the prayer service beginning at 12:15 p.m. and ending at 12:45 p.m.
Representatives of the community will offer prayers for government, families, media, business, churches, first responders, youth, education and the military.
Prayer leaders include Columbus City Councilman Charlie Box, Pastor Charles Mullins of Immanuel Baptist Church, Rev. Kevin Jenkins of Fairview Baptist Church, R.H. Brown of WCBI-TV, Sherry Kostka of the Blue Jean Outlet, Rev. Joe Peoples of Stephens Chapel MB Church, Capt. Fred Shelton of the Columbus Police Department, Immanuel Christian School senior Taylor Williamson, and Lt. Col. Joseph Speed of Columbus Air Force Base.
“America needs prayer as she has never needed prayer before,” said Glenn Lautzenhiser of the organizing committee. “We can freely assemble in America, as we will do May 3. In many nations this would not be possible. Men and women over the years have paid a great price for us to live in a free society; we owe it to them to exercise the rights and privileges they fought so hard to maintain.”
Throughout the nation
The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. In 1988 Ronald Reagan signed Public Law 100-307, designating the first Thursday in May as the annual observance.
The purpose of the Christian Community Organization is to encourage participation in the National Day of Prayer, to pray for America’s leaders and its families.
“The National Day of Prayer has great significance for us as a nation,” said co-organizer Danny Avery of Columbus. “It enables us to recall and to teach the way in which our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when faced with critical decisions. It stands as a call to us to humbly come before God, seeking guidance for our leaders and grace upon us as a people.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.