A strong week for our faith community

Twelve different faith leaders from different places of worship came together last week to pray for the citizens of Crestview, the homeless and downtrodden, the military, Crestview’s businesses, our students and school leaders, the city’s public services department, its elected officials and the city manager, the Crestview faith community, law enforcement, firefighters, and those in the medical field.

“God, I am so honored and so blessed to be the mayor of this great city that has such a strong faith community,” Mayor JB Whitten said in his closing prayer at the event. “Every day we are surrounded and protected by the many churches we have in this great city, and they would not be fulfilling your will if they didn’t have the fantastic leaders that we have. … Lord, we recognize the hard work and challenges they have in supporting us and keeping us close to you.”

The National Day of Prayer was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1952, and every president since has signed a proclamation that encourages Americans to pray on and celebrate the day. Since it was founded, the National Day of Prayer has always been held on the first Thursday in May.

While the holiday was originally created to celebrate the Christian faith and unite American citizens together in prayer, it is now celebrated by all beliefs and religions, Whitten said while reading his proclamation at the event.

If there was anything disappointing about Crestview’s National Day of Prayer program, it was just that more people did not attend. Last week’s event at the Old Spanish Trail amphitheater had about 75 people attend in a venue that could have easily set double or triple that number.

Regardless of anyone’s religious beliefs are, hopefully most people agree that praying for the safety and wellbeing of the community and the people in it can do nothing but good.

It was also good to see in this issue that the First Presbyterian Church in Crestview is rebuilding and recovering from the Feb. 18 incident where a suspected drunk driver drove through the front of the building at a high rate of speed.

The damage done to the church was extensive. The car crashed into the narthex, spewing battery acid and automotive fluid into the sanctuary, a wall was displaced about six inches, the ceiling of the narthex received so much damage that it must be replaced, an exterior brick wall is covered in plywood, and support post and beams must be repaired.

Even with all of that damage, the church was able to celebrate worship services in its sanctuary for the first time since the accident on Easter Sunday.

“I express my appreciation for the prayers and offers of help from the community,” the Rev. Mark Broadhead said in an interview with the Crestview News Bulletin. “I believe in the power of prayer.”

So do we.

The church still has a long way to go before it fully recovers from the accident, but they are on the right path.