Those lining the Hancock County Courthouse Plaza sing along near the start of the National Day of Prayer service.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — Even as clouds gathered over downtown Greenfield, people slowly gathered on the Hancock County Courthouse Plaza on Thursday as noon approached, groups of a few arriving here and there to join the larger gathering.
Katrina Royster has been to the annual National Day of Prayer service many times over the years, first drawn when one of her older children was part of a group from St. Michael Catholic School singing at the service.
Waiting with her youngest son for this year’s service to start, she talked about how people may worship in different service orders or styles at their various churches, but this service brings them together from different walks of life.
“This is more of a public witness that this is important,” she said.
It’s been 70 years since President Harry Truman signed a bill to establish a national day of prayer. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan amended that by designating it as the first Thursday in May.
The tradition of a local prayer gathering on the plaza each May stretches back at least 30 years. Greater Greenfield Ministerial Association sponsors the service, in which multiple speakers offer prayers pertaining to a theme, such as education or business.
Debra Weber, executive director of Love INC, prayed for families. She read a Bible verse from the book of Joshua (24:15) in which Joshua tells the Hebrews to choose who they will serve, adding that as for him and his family, they will serve God. She prayed that “Like Joshua, may we be bold and choose for our families to serve you and not the idols of our society.”
By the time she prayed those words, rain had been falling for several minutes. Ministerial Association president Adam Detamore, lead pastor of Realife Church, invited the people on the plaza to join the speakers under the roof at the west end of the plaza. The 60 or so gathered for the service huddled there for the rest of the service.
Josh and Erin Turner were there with some of their family. Josh said he had been to the service in 2021. They were there together Thursday, Erin said, because they’re newly married and “just making sure our family was grounded in prayer and worship and community.”
Detamore said the community of churches in the Greenfield area has a special bond.
“One of the great attributes of our community is the relationships and the unity that there is among the churches,” he said leading up to the event. “On the night Jesus was betrayed, He told his disciples that the world would know that we are his disciples by our love for one another.
“I think the National Day of Prayer is a great example of both the love that our churches have for one another, that spirit of unity, and the love that we have for the individuals in our community and in our nation as we gather together to pray for them.”
