Sheriff, mayor cite importance of faith

At annual prayer breakfast

Doug Crader, pastor of RiverWood Church at Jefferson City Christian Center, led about 50 community members, elected leaders and emergency responders in prayer Thursday morning during the 11th annual Mayor and Presiding Commissioner’s Breakfast, part of the National Day of Prayer.
Doug Crader, pastor of RiverWood Church at Jefferson City Christian Center, led about 50 community members, elected leaders and emergency responders in prayer Thursday morning during the 11th annual Mayor and Presiding Commissioner’s Breakfast, part of the National Day of Prayer.

Prayer is a conversation with God, Cole County Sheriff Greg White said at the 11th annual Mayor and Presiding Commissioner’s Breakfast Thursday during the National Day of Prayer.

Often people talk at God instead of seeking him and asking him to guide their path, White continued.

“What are you doing in your relationship with Christ?” he asked the nearly 50 elected officials, emergency responders, clergy and others in attendance. “Are you making decisions based on what feels good or on what God says?”

White encouraged the room to “live in an attitude when God speaks, you hear and then you obey.”

As the sheriff nears retirement, he said he does not know what his future holds, “but God does.”

Doug Crader, pastor of RiverWood Church at Jefferson City Christian Center, has been the coordinator of the Jefferson City National Day of Prayer Task Force for several years. He noted students at the public middle and high schools were praying at their flagpoles at the same time, and a statewide event was held at the Capitol later in the day.

Local pastors led prayers for government, businesses, families and the media.

“This is a voluntary time out so we can, as one people, pray and seek the Lord,” said the Rev. James Jackson, pastor of House of Prayer Family Church. “There’s no greater time, no greater need than now.”

Host Mayor Carrie Tergin, a member of the Greek Orthodox faith, said she appreciates the national theme of the 65th annual event — “Wake Up America,” based on Isaiah 58:1 — “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.”

“It’s so appropriate,” she said. “My grandfather would say we live in the best country on Earth; he showed me what a blessing it was to live in this country.”

Tergin said she hopes as mayor she is an example of faith.

“I make decisions based on my faith and the right thing to do,” she said. “It’s important to stand up and use our voice … and support others when they do.”

As elected officials, the Sunshine Law keeps them mindful of what they say in open meetings or in emails, Tergin said.

“That’s a great way to live our lives every day, to use our words for good,” she said. “If we all spoke more kindly to each other, we’d be in a much better place.”

Link:

nationaldayofprayer.org