Over 40 people from different faiths gather for National Day of Prayer service in Idaho Falls

Pastor Larry Cudmore gave the devotional address at the National Day of Prayer service in Idaho Falls Thursday morning. Watch it in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com IDAHO FALLS – About 40 people gathered in the meeting room at Hampton Inn in Idaho Falls Thursday morning for a local observance of the National Day of Prayer. The Regional Council of Christian Ministry sponsored the event, which included representatives of different faiths, along with community and state leaders and members of the student council from Hillcrest High School. “We pour out our hearts for our nation … the Lord has established. May all who live and serve and steward (in their responsibilities) be filled with your purpose, your wisdom, your strength and your truth,” First Presbyterian Church Pastor Phillip Hagen said in the invocation. Following a musical number, RCCM Board Chair Jane Kaestner spoke briefly. Pastor Larry Cudmore with Champs Heart delivered the devotional address about prayer. Watch it in the video above. Following another musical number, Pastor Peter Simpson with the Seventh Day Adventist Church gave the benediction. “Thank you for the opportunity we had to gather in this room, while across the country, there are many others doing the very same thing. I pray that we will remember what we have learned here this morning,” Simpson said. “Send us home with your blessing and thank you for … the time we could spend … in the presence of the Almighty God.” Established in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress, the National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May. It calls on people of all faiths to pray for the nation and its leaders. While National Day of Prayer observances have been held locally in previous years, this is the RCCM’s first time sponsoring the event. The nonprofit coordinates Christian education, service, and outreach programs throughout the year, including an interfaith Thanksgiving service every November. RELATED | Community invited to annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Worship service The RCCM recently participated in Lent in the weeks leading up to Easter, where ministers from different denominations gathered to sing and worship together. RCCM Vice Chair Kevin Call tells EastIdahoNews.com it was a wonderful experience to take part in that. Thursday’s event was another opportunity for members of different faiths to build unity and rub shoulders with one another. “It makes a difference if everybody knows who we are and we work together … on projects in the community or with the Idaho Falls Community Food Basket (which the RCCM owns),” Call says. RELATED | Local food bank takes ownership of old Latter-day Saint meetinghouse Among those in attendance were Bobby and Nancy Picker, longtime members of the Bahai faith in Idaho Falls. There are roughly 25 Bahai members in the area. Bahai Prayer for America | Courtesy Bobby Picker He and his wife enjoyed hearing from other faith leaders at Thursday’s event and express appreciation for the good they do in the community. He says it’s important for communities to have events where people of all faiths can come together under one roof. “If we go out and try to interact with each other, we become friends,” Bobby says. “Unity is important. Unity is the way to peace for all people … because we understand each other. Once we understand each other, we find commonalities that really bring us together,” Nancy adds. Callie Avondet, co-director of the Greater Idaho Falls Communication Council, which worked with RCCM in sponsoring the National Day of Prayer event, is pleased with the turnout. She’s grateful to everyone who contributed to make it successful and hopes it will become an annual event. “To be able to sit in the room with so many of different faiths in one purpose and to appreciate prayer and its importance in our lives was a wonderful experience,” Avondet says.The post Over 40 people from different faiths gather for National Day of Prayer service in Idaho Falls appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com