National Day of Prayer pastors from left: Pastor Emeritus Rob Reiner, Lakepoint Church, who provided the 15th and final prayer to complete the event; Pastor Johathon Dawson, Lakepoint Community Church; Pastor Bob Bowling, United Methodist Church; Pastor Pete Mattix, Lake Country Baptist Church; Pastor Neftali Coronado, El Buen Pastor Church; Kenneth Hardmen, filling in for Pastor Kareem Farley, Ebenezer Baptist Church; Deacon Steven Pond, filling in for Pastor Adam Blatt, Christ Our King & Savior Catholic Church; Pastor Mike Palombo, Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church; Pastor KT Crawford, Mount Zion Baptist Church; Don Morgan, filling in for Pastor John McMillian, Crossroads Baptist Church; Pastor Mark Jones III, First Baptist Church of Greensboro; Pastor Avis Williams, Bethlehem Baptist Church; Pastor Meg Jackson Clark, First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro; Christina Davis, filling in for Pastor Javier Ortiz, Jesus King of Glory Church; and Pastor AJ Bryant, Ark of God House of God Ministry.

Fifteen pastors, or their last-minute substitutes, gathered at Lakepoint Community Church to pray together asking God to heal current problems and to continue to bless the nation.This was the 72nd anniversary of the National Day of Prayer (NDP), and the fourth consecutive year when pastors from different Christian churches in Greene and Putnam counties gathered to pray together at Lakepoint Community Church. Lakepoint Church is uniquely positioned between the two counties and conveniently accessible to most citizens.

As in the past, seven pastors from each county were invited to join the event and offer their own prayer.The prayers were incredibly heartfelt, sincere, and brought spontaneous responses from the participants.The full event is available on Facebook at Pray for America Greene County.

After the opening remarks by Fran D’Antonio, NDP coordinator for Greene and Putnam Counties, Jonathan Dawson, senior pastor of Lakepoint Church, offered a prayer followed by Mike D’Antonio leading the Pledge of Allegiance.Prior to the beginning of the prayers, Christina Davis blew the Shofar signaling the call to prayer.The Shofar, is an ancient musical instrument made from a ram’s horn, and is mentioned in the Bible 72 times from Exodus to Revelations and is used for many purposes including prayer.

Several pastors were unable to participate at the last minute due to illness or an emergency of a family member.

After four years of service, Fran D’Antonio is retiring as the National Day of Prayer coordinator, and anyone interested in being his replacement can text or call him at 404-391-4120.