Ellwood City To Hold Annual National Day of Prayer

Ellwood City will be holding its Annual National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 6th at the Ellwood City Community Plaza.

The public event is scheduled to take place from 11:45 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

The event will be lead by church and civic leaders and will have live music at noon to open the event and pastor of Ellport Presbyterian Church Charlene Kennedy will welcome everyone to the event and will introduce Mayor Anthony Court to give his opening remarks and lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

“This year we will include a time of remembrance for those who have been lost and those who have endured loss during the pandemic,” said Kennedy.

Various individuals, pastors and lay leaders will lead everyone gathered in prayer for government, business, churches, education, families, military, emergency responders, healthcare workers, the media, and labor.  Closing remarks will be given by the borough manager, David Allen.

Attendees are asked to adhere to CDC guidelines concerning COVID protocols. Given the current complexity of the COVID-19 situation, there will be no luncheon held this year.

“This event was held last year but due to the large impact of COVID-19 shutdowns there were less people in attendance than there had been in previous years,” added Kennedy.

Additionally, the Ellport Presbyterian Church along with other churches in Ellwood City, will be taking place in ecumenical worship services beginning at 2:00 p.m. on the third Sunday in May. The “Alliance and Fellowship of Churches” will be meeting on the third Sunday of the month at different churches in Ellwood with different pastors speaking in the host church. The first meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church and Pastor Charlene Kennedy will be speaking. The gathering will run through September.

Please note, if there is rain, the prayer event will be moved to the First Baptist Church on Fountain Avenue.

The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the U.S Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. It is held annually on the first Thursday of May all across the nation.  This year will mark the event’s 70th anniversary.