National Day of Prayer set for Thursday

In this May 1, 2014 photo, more than 30 staff members and students from Thomas Jefferson Middle School took part in the Prayer at the Pole as part of activities celebrating the National Day of Prayer.
In this May 1, 2014 photo, more than 30 staff members and students from Thomas Jefferson Middle School took part in the Prayer at the Pole as part of activities celebrating the National Day of Prayer.

National Day of Prayer events are planned for Thursday at four Jefferson City schools and the Missouri Capitol.

Each year, the president signs a proclamation encouraging all Americans to turn to God and pray and meditate on the day.

In observance of the day, students will lead prayer at the flagpoles at Lewis and Clark Middle School, 325 Lewis and Clark Drive; Simonsen 9th Grade Center, 501 E. Miller St.; and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 1201 Fairgrounds Road.

Those events are 7:30-7:45 a.m., according to the National Day of Prayer website.

Jefferson City High School, 609 Union St., will hold its prayer at the flagpole at 7:20 a.m., business teacher Nathan Redcay said. Redcay, who is a co-leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, said students gather for prayer every Wednesday before school.

"We do devotions and a little prayer weekly," Redcay said. "Students usually lead the prayer."

They also decide the topics for the day. Some days they read from scripture. Other days they show a video.

Students put flyers up in the school to let their peers know about the events. They also try to advertise at events, such as the sophomore readiness night.

"It's really a group of students who get together that have shared interests," Redcay said. "It's more word of mouth than anything else."

Another group associated with the Christian athletes at JCHS meets during evenings. Life Runners is a pro-life organization that participates in numerous events outside the school. Sometimes members meet at the Capitol to do a workout and run.

Also, at noon Thursday, lawmakers will join with members of the public for a prayer rally, said Jill Noble, state director of the observance. Several state leaders will participate in the service.

The keynote speaker is Will Ford.

Ford, the descendant of emancipated slaves, travels throughout the United States to speak at churches and conferences about intercessory prayer and societal transformation. He takes an iron kettle that his ancestors used as slaves to his speaking engagements. Slaves used the kettle to muffle the sound of their praying.

Ford uses the pot as a catalyst to gather groups of people together.

The morals of his stories are unity, which is the theme for the National Day of Prayer this year, and reconciliation, Noble said.