Carrying on an annual tradition begun by the Continental Congress in 1775, when it proclaimed a National Day of Prayer, the Rev. Tom Ash, of the New Song Community Church in Lady Lake, led a group prayer at the Villages Polo Fields which was to be read simultaneously throughout America on Thursday around noontime:
“Heavenly Father, we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches and heal our land,” he prayed. “We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You, and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You. Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope.*”
During the hour-long inspirational service, the New Covenant United Methodist Chancel Choir, under the direction of Sean Pollock, sang Hayes’ ‘Great and Awesome God,’ and a spirited arrangement of “America the Beautiful.”
The Rev. Wendy Gallegos, of the Open Door Community Church, both opened and closed the service with sacred words and pleas for peace; and the Rev. Mark Gould, from Leesburg’s Morning Star Cowboy Church, led the congregation in responsive praise and worship scriptures.
“The earth is the Lord’s … and all who dwell in it. God is king over the nations: God sits on His holy throne. His eyes keep watch on the nations. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I put my hope.”
George Laufersky played the National Anthem as an artful trumpet solo, and major league baseball player and missionary chaplain, Don Gordon, addressed the congregation.
“The most important thing is prayer,” Gordon said. “Jesus prayed through the night and then picked his disciples. God speaks to all of us through prayer. We need to be here as prayer warriors — to pray for all those who are in authority. This pleases the Lord. God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God wants us to be saved from being separated from God for all eternity.”
Gordon described the word ‘PRAY’ as an acronym. “‘P’ stands for praise and worship. ‘R’ stands for repentance. We need to repent and please the Lord. The Lord’s demands are not burdensome. ‘A’ stands for ask — ask in humble supplication for others and for ourselves — for our children, and for our jobs, etc…and ‘Y’ stands for yield. We must yield to the Word of God.”
New Orleans native, the Rev. Ken Scruggs, the cultural community relations pastor of First Baptist Church of Leesburg, prayed for our community, our schools and our children.
“Our children are the future of this great nation,” Scruggs said. “The responsibility we have for them is immense. We want to help communities and children to be prosperous and to grow and represent what is healthy in America. We want America to be as good for our children as it was for us.”