|
650 N. First Street
PO Box 96 Woodburn, OR 97071 Phone:
503.981.3441 |
|
| Area citizens pray for their country |
|---|
| Woodburn celebrates National Day of Prayer Thursday at City Hall |
|---|
 | | Photo By Charissa Bernard | | Dave Dougherty of Hoodview Church of God, led the National Day of Prayer event at Woodburn City Hall. |
|
By Charissa Bernard
On the steps of Woodburn City Hall, 150 students, senior citizens, business owners and parishioners gathered to commemorate the National Day of Prayer on May 1.
People began showing up at noon, led by Hoodview Church of God pastor Dave Dougherty, and by 12:15, a string of students could be seen marching toward City Hall from St. Luke Catholic School.
This annual tradition was embraced by two former mayors in attendance, Nancy Kirksey and Richard Jennings.
Dougherty addressed the crowd, letting them know that the purpose of this day was not to cause problems, but to pray for solutions.
"We are not here in protest of our country," he said. "We are here to pray for our country."
Between prayers, the students shared songs they had practiced, including "Open My Eyes, Lord" and "Amazing Grace."
The group prayed for the leadership in the city and country, wisdom for judges, police and doctors, for the election and justice, and also thanked God for the weather.
"We thank you for the rain, but we thank you that it is not raining right now," prayed one individual.
Scripture was also read, and the event ended with the recital of the Lord's Prayer and the collective singing of "God Bless America."
Dougherty said that this event is a powerful thing for a community.
"We have a diverse group of people from different parts of the Christian faith and this gives a time to come together and realize we aren't alone in our concerns for the country. We aren't alone in our prayer."
|
| Go to top. |
|
|
