Songs and shouts of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ rang out from Central Park in downtown Mansfield Thursday when several members of the Richland County community gathered together in observance of the National Day of Prayer.
“[The National Day of Prayer] serves as an opportunity for people to pray together and make an appeal to heaven,” said Ben Mutti, Richland Community Family Coalition spokesperson. Both Mutti and Rev. El Akuchie of the Richland Community Prayer Network helped coordinate Thursday’s event.
Attendees were welcomed to the prayer event with the playing of live worship music from a praise team led by Pastor Jerry Laudermilk and Bill Jacquin of Abundant Life Tabernacle. Other live musical worship songs were performed by the Image choir students from Mansfield Christian School.
Hands were lifted high in worship and praise and people crowded together to pray for one another, to pray for schools, to pray for area churches, and to pray for law enforcement and safety forces. Government officials also came forward to receive prayer from local pastors.
Events such as this might not have been possible without the help of Richland County Juvenile Court Judge Ron Spon. Thirty-six years ago, Judge Spon, a local attorney at the time, filed a suit against the Mansfield City Parks Board claiming that the parks board denied his right to deliver a religious message from the band shell at Central Park.
Ultimately, Judge James Mayer issued a decision prohibiting the city from forbidding Spon and a group of accompanying musicians from using the band shell for their gospel presentation.
Thursday, Judge Spon revisited the location where he worked hard to secure religious freedom and spoke to the audience about a phrase found in the Great Seal of the United States: “Annuit coeptis,” which means, “He has smiled on our undertakings.”
“This phrase to me is one of the most beautiful sayings of our history,” said Spon. “Do you feel the humility that is there? Do you sense that [the nation’s founding fathers] weren’t crediting themselves with the victory of this new nation that was born? It was because of His favor, His smile upon their undertakings.”
Spon spoke of the nation’s founding fathers, noting that many of them were devout in their faith and dependent on the grace and favor of God.
And although the nation today is far from where the founding fathers were in terms of behavior and beliefs, he said, “We are here today to pray.”
“Why pray?” he asked. “We pray because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. We pray because Jesus commanded us to pray…and we also pray because we are reminded of the tremendous sacrifice of our forefathers.”
He added, “We’re not praying for a democrat agenda. We’re not praying for republican agenda. We’re not praying for a green agenda. We are praying for His agenda.”
“Why pray?” he asked. “We pray because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. We pray because Jesus commanded us to pray…and we also pray because we are reminded of the tremendous sacrifice of our forefathers.”
