Yesterday I participated in a National Day of Prayer event at the AME Zion Church’s Kenneth Moore Transformation Center on Saluda Street in Rock Hill. The headquarters for the church’s SC and GA districts is located there and God has blessed them with a beautiful facility that is great addition to that part of our city.
Several Pastors of various Christian denominations led prayers for different groups, leaders, and needs in our community and nation. I led the prayer for our law enforcement officials, a group of men and women who have always been appreciated and supported by our church family at FBC. This coming Wednesday our church will host a luncheon attended by law enforcement from several local and state agencies. During this annual event those who lost their lives in the line of duty are remembered, their families are recognized, and all who are serving are honored. We’ve hosted this for several years and I’m always touched emotionally by the experience.
There is a lot of tension in some segments of our nation and the police are at the center of some of it. My purpose in writing today is not to explore those issues. Rather I want to remind us that praying works. I want to encourage you to pray for the police, for our nation, for the unemployed, for those from dysfunctional homes and communities, for government leaders, for the media and for anyone else God places on your heart. If people prayed more than they shouted or complained, America would be a different place than it is today. So take a moment and pray.
Before I close, allow me to write one final note. There were other National Day of Prayer events in our community yesterday and I’m thankful for each one. I was invited to participate in some of them. I chose to pray in the one I did because it was an interfaith prayer event held in the facility of a predominantly African American church. Since so much of the recent tension in America is centered on the police and African Americans, it just felt like the right thing to do. While our prayers are needed if our land is to be healed, so is our involvement. Yesterday was a gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ and I am richer today because I was there.
Pastor Steve Hogg
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