The Clinton County National Day of Prayer ceremony will commence on Thursday, May 2 at Old Stoney.
The National Day of Prayer will be celebrated in Clinton County on May 2 at Old Stoney at 301 E. Clinton St. in Frankfort with services beginning at 12 p.n,
Light refreshments will follow.
For more information, call 765-654-7332 or email info@frankfort-in.gov.
Check out last year’s unreleased report of the National Day of Prayer festivities:
Community members gathered at Old Stoney on Thursday afternoon for the National Day of Prayer to uplift community leaders and citizens.
The National Day of Prayer event in Frankfort included prayers led by Leo Gonzalez, Shan Sheridan, Kevin Alber, Susan Kaspar, Marissa Mills, Katie Schimmel, Deborah Musick and Kelly Kurth for a vast array of groups and individuals present within the community. Alber, organizer, stated that the local event for the national holiday allows for the Frankfort community to reflect on the impact of their faith in their own lives and the lives of their fellow community members.
“I was glad to do that on behalf of the Clinton County Ministerial Association as a way for us to fulfill God’s commands to us and pray for all of our government leaders,” said Alber. “It is a reminder that we need to be praying for them everyday, much like how Thanksgiving is a reminder for us to be grateful for what we have not just one day a year but every day.”
Gonzalez kicked off the event by introducing a “Prayer for the Nation” where he detailed his yearning for the nation to prosper through unity and overcome adversity. The prayer included the names of national leaders in the country followed by a request for wisdom to be present within the government to improve the healing process Gonzalez believes the nation needs.
“My main reason was to pray for our nation,” said Gonzalez. “Our nation is in a hard situation right now.
This is a time when we come together as one body to pray for our nation, and I pray mainly for healing and unity and harmony because the way our nation is right now, we are not coming together.”
Gonzalez continued to state that the National Day of Prayer and the prayer for the nation allows for the community to call upon their faith in hopes that the nation will move within the correct direction toward harmony.
“We have to come together and pray for our leaders because I believe what God can do, prayer can do,” said Gonzalez. “To pray is to move the hand of God to make this happen, so this is my conviction. I pray for our leaders so they can have wisdom to lead our country.”
Sheridan followed Gonzalez’s prayer with a “Prayer for Indiana” where he prayed for the continued service and dedication of state leaders that affect the daily lives of citizens within the entire county with their decisions to uplift them and impart wisdom upon them as they continue their endeavors.
“It’s a real blessing when we can get everybody to come together and pray for different things,” said Sheridan. “I’m a believer in God, and I believe that if we don’t humble ourselves and we don’t search and seek his wisdom then we get in trouble, and I think our country is in trouble.”
Sheridan echoed Gonzalez’s statement regarding the significance of the National Day of Prayer, recognizing the overwhelming number of services and events that occurred across the nation throughout the day.
“It is a national pause, and if nothing else, just stop and exhibit and exemplify your faith that you trust to something higher and bigger than you, because if I’m just trusting in myself, I’m in trouble,” said Sheridan. “There’s prayer services that are in the morning, noon and in the evening across the country. I thought it was a pretty decent crowd for the day and for the timing.”
Katie Schimmel led a “Prayer for Children” during the service where she prayed for the youth within the county. The prayer included requests for strength, guidance for the future of the children, the children’s overall health and well-being and the knowledge needed to foster a bright future. Schimmel utilized her experience as a mother and as the COACH Kids Executive Director to personalize her prayer to cover every need she sees for youth on a daily basis.
“Integrity and grace in these children are so important right now because they don’t even know what that is,” said Schimmel. “We’re just reminding these kids and taking it back to the beginning to help them think of the right things and the right choices that need to be made. That’s kind of what inspired me, especially with the recent situation out at Clinton Central, and it just has been very heavy on my heart that these kids these days may not know what integrity is or how to be good shepherds of the Lord.”
Schimmel further echoed Gonzalez’s and Sheridan’s statements about the significance of the National Day of Prayer, stating that the day provides an opportunity for community members to pray for individuals that may not be on their mind every day of the week and may not receive prayers from the community throughout the year.
“Not only does this take us back to the roots of reminding us to pray and adding prayer into our daily lives, it’s also a good day to stop and specifically dedicate the day to those individuals that you may not pray for on a daily basis,” said Schimmel. “Dedicating a day to that specifically is nice because then you can thank the Lord and pray to him for the people that need it the most.”
The event also included a “Prayer for Local Government” by Alber, a “Prayer for Businesses” by Kaspar, a “Prayer for Schools” by Mills, a “Prayer for Caregivers” by Musick and a “Prayer for First Responders” by Kurth.