Benton County gathering will coincide with national move

Thousands of people will gather on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol at noon and at 5 p.m. Thursday to pray as part of the 55th annual National Day of Prayer.

Another 2,500 are expected at a first-ever prayer observance in the amphitheater of the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial at 6 p.m., and millions more will meet in homes, churches and other public venues across the country to pray for their city, state and nation.

In Benton County, organizers hope to draw about 500 to a prayer rally on the south lawn of the Benton County Courthouse at noon Thursday. Attendance at the event, led by local clergy and public officials of faith, has grown each year since the first in 1989.

Co-chair of the Benton County observance, Tom White, says the public gathering here as well as in other locations across American is not for show.

“This is a troubling time. The war’s not going well, the deficit is skyrocketing and the immigration thing is a mess. This is serious prayer for serious issues,” he said.

As founder and president of Frontline Ministries, White leads Christian leadership and prayer retreats around the world and serves on the National Prayer Committee and International Prayer Council.

His co-chair Beth Lambright, an instructor at Linn-Benton Community College and a veteran Bible study teacher, said she is excited about this year’s theme “America, Honor God.”

God makes it clear in the Old Testament that he will honor those who honor him, she explained. Raised in the Northeast, her family roots trace back to colonial America in the 1600s.

“I grew up with history all around me and with a gratefulness for having been born in this country and for the way God guides us,” Lambright said.

“Four hundred years ago whenever the country got into trouble, we would call for a day of prayer n whatever time of year it was,” she continued. “We’ve lost that and now we’re reeling.”

Among the specific local concerns that will be raised at Thursday’s prayer rally are the problems facing the Corvallis School District and the need for civil dialogue on school reconfiguration plans, the morale of the Corvallis Police Department, and the importance of mutual respect in an increasingly polarized community, White said.

“Regardless of the radical distinctions there are in this town, we ought to be able to walk with each other with respect and be able to express ourselves without anger,” he said, adding prayer will be needed to counteract the kind of polarization that “always rears its head when we approach a new political cycle.”

Both White and Lambright emphasized people of all faiths are welcome at Thursday’s prayer meeting.

Lambright described a national prayer breakfast she attended several years ago in Washington, D.C., and how moved she was at the sight of Christians, Muslims and Jews all praying together.

“Considering all the ways we’re different, this is one thing we can all agree to do. On the courthouse lawn, we all share a realization that we are needy and we need to pray to God,” she said.

The local emphasis on prayer continues with a “10 Days of Prayer” event May 16-25 hosted by Calvin Presbyterian Church, 1736 N.W. Dixon St. Each day, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m., people are welcome to spend time at individual and group prayer stations in a designated “prayer room” or participate in a interdenominational worship experience at night.

On June 4, Pentecost Sunday, believers in an estimated 180 nations around the world will observe the second annual Global Day of Prayer. Benton County’s prayer rally will take place at Corvallis Church of the Nazarene, 4900 N.W. Highway 99, from 5 to 8 p.m. and will feature guided prayer activities, videos of prayer rallies in other countries and personal testimonies.

At a glance

What: 55th annual National Day of Prayer, including a local observance

When: Noon Thursday

Where: South lawn of the Benton County Courthouse, 120 N.W. Fourth St.

Carol Reeves covers religion for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at carol.reeves@lee.net or by phone at 758-9516.