Morgan City and Berwick set Day of Prayer events

Tri-City area religious leaders will lead communities in prayer services Thursday, the National Day of Prayer. Services will begin at 12:10 p.m. in Morgan City and Berwick.

Starting 10 minutes after noon is an accommodation for working people.

“We give people time to get there,” Morgan City Special Events Coordinator Beth Portero said. “People can come on their lunch hour, and a lunch will be supplied.”

The ministerial alliance will come together in Morgan City and say prayers, sing a couple of songs, including “God Bless America,” led by the churches. The observance will last until 12:35 p.m.

It will be held on Morgan City Hall’s front lawn. In case of rain, the service will be moved to the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.

The Berwick service will be held at the Everett S. Berry Lighthouse Park. The service will last 30 to 40 minutes, the Rev. Randy Plessala Sr. said.

“We try to be sensitive to the lunch hour,” Plessala said.

Plessala, pastor of PromiseLand Fellowship in Patterson, has organized services the past four years.

Normally, public officials are present with many area ministers. A local choir director will direct group singing of patriotic and church songs.

There will be eight to nine topics of focused prayer for federal, state, and local officials, military and others that are each led by a different minister.

“We’ve had a great time the last three or four years,” Plessala said.

Lunch will not be provided for the Berwick service.

“Ours is strictly the service,” Plessala said. “Hopefully, we can be through with it so people can pick up something and get back to work.”

The National Day of Prayer is observed annually the first Thursday of May. It is an invitation for people of all faiths to pray for the nation.

It was signed into law in 1952. But the first call to prayer occurred in 1775.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force’s mission is to mobilize prayer in America and to encourage personal repentance and righteousness in the culture, according to the National Day of Prayer organization’s website.