County residents will be gathering on the steps of the Newton County Courthouse and Newton City Hall on Thursday to pray.
Both observances of the National Day of Prayer will begin at noon on Thursday. The theme of this year’s event is “Love One Another” based on John 13:34, as attendees are asked to pray for unity among seven areas: government, military, media, business, education, church and family.
The City of Newton’s program will be on the steps of City Hall and will feature a brief program that includes prayers offered by residents and acapella singing of several prayerful songs.
Newton First Baptist Pastor Brian Rushing, along with NFBC minister of music and senior adults Randy Cuchens, are helping to plan this year’s event for the city of Newton. Rushing said that the prayer service is open to anyone from any denomination.
One of the reasons why Rushing thinks the National Day of Prayer is so important is due to the significance of prayer in the Bible.
“The National Day of Prayer acknowledges that our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles,” Rushing said in a previous Newton County Appeal story. “Prayer is central to the life of a Christian. We believe that it is important for us to come together and pray for our leaders in our community and in our country.”
The county’s observance will feature music by the Newton County Middle School Choir and prayers led by a host of county and community leaders.
The National Day of Prayer began in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman. It was later amended by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to set the observance on the first Thursday of May.
“We tend to forget that Jesus didn’t say we would be known by our creeds or by our knowledge or how much we know about the Bible — He said we would be known only by our love,” Ronnie Floyd, the president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, said when revealing the 2019 theme at a leadership summit last fall. “And love has been painfully absent in America in so many ways.”
In 2018, an estimated 50,000 gatherings across all 50 states were held on the National Day of Prayer. More than 1 million people from 38 countries viewed the broadcast of the National Observance.
