MANSFIELD, Ohio — Hand in hand, members of the community stood together at the Central Park Gazebo Thursday evening, praying that God would bless the local youth, schools, law enforcement and the community.
The prayer vigil, coordinated by Associate Minister Ronald Moton Sr. of Oasis of Love Church, took place in light of the recent bomb threats made against several schools in the area.
“We still have children who are scared to go to school,” Moton said.
The minister said he felt the Lord’s prompting to organize the event, seeing support from several local pastors in the area.
In the opening prayer, Pastor Sharon Kilgore of Highest Praise Church stated, “We’re going to come into agreement as in Matthew 18:19. The Bible says, ‘Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.’
“And so tonight we are going to pray a prayer of faith. We’re going to ask the God of heaven to touch this city, these cities that surround us, our homes, our lives, our schools.”
Krista Cameron of Mansfield was in the crowd. She said she wanted to show her support for the local schools and churches.
Dr. Walter Jordan, pastor of Oasis of Love Church, discussed the purpose of community prayer.
“Community prayer serves the purpose of bringing together local men and women from government, business, education and religion in order to acknowledge God’s protection and guidance over our community and to pray for His continued blessings,” he said.
Leaders of the local enforcement agencies shared a few words, as well, thanking the community for its support.
“We feel very blessed to have the support of the community,” Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz said.
He said that both he and Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon have religious backgrounds, “and neither one of us want to deviate from that,” he said. “So we really want to assure the community that for us, there really is no separation of government and church because we believe that in order to have a good government you gotta be involved in the church and God has to be with you.”
Sheldon echoed Coontz’s message, adding that sometimes it’s hard not to be discouraged by all of the hate and evil that’s present in this world, but his brother, who served as minister, often reminds him “God is in control,” Sheldon said.
“That blesses me all the time when I think about that,” he said.
He thanked the community for its support and asked for continued prayer.
“We’re not going to make all the right decisions, but with God’s help, we can make a difference,” he said.
