By SAM HOUSEHOLDER
THE GOSHEN NEWS
GOSHEN —
Around 50 people gathered on the west lawn of the Elkhart County Courthouse at 11:45 a.m. Thursday for worship and prayer.
The gathering, organized by the Goshen Prayer Network, a group that puts together prayer events for the city, was to honor the National Day of Prayer.
To mark the day there were actually three different events, a breakfast, the courthouse prayer worship and then an evening prayer and dinner event.
Honorary chairman of the Goshen Prayer Network, Ed Wright, says that it’s important for the country to come together in prayer for the better of the country.
“It’s important for a nation, any nation, to be men and women of prayer,” Wright said.
The program included songs of worship and then prayers about specific topics led by speakers, followed by prayers in small groups of two or more about the topic that was led by the speaker.
This year’s topics were repentance, government, military, media, business, education, church and family.
Mayor Allan Kauffman read a proclamation declaring the holiday.
The theme of this year’s day of prayer comes from Psalm 33:12, which says “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” But the message of the service goes beyond just one day of prayer, Wright said.
“You continue in prayer, that you ban together, cross over church lines, denominational lines, and you get together ... and influence the community, not only through prayer but also through your conduct,” he said.
Other speakers included Goshen College president Jim Brenneman and Judge Olga Stickel.
“We’ve drawn in ... recognized people that we know are influencers in the community,” Wright said.
The prayer service concluded around 1 p.m.
