ROCKINGHAM — The power of prayer was on display Thursday in front of the old Richmond County courthouse for a long-running tradition — with law enforcement and the local youth being the primary subjects.
The sizable crowd was gathered for the annual observance of the National Day of Prayer, which was started 30 years ago by Sherrel Jackson and the late Cathy Wilson.
Jackson, who was sitting in a vehicle during the event, was honored with a plaque in recognition of her years of service.
In recent years, the event has been organized by Wilson’s daughter, District Court Judge Amy Wilson, and has included a prayer from her other daughter, Dr. Allison Farrah.
“Our main purpose here today is to honor and glorify God and to pray for our nation and the many others we will lift up today,” Farrah said, following a performance by the students of Roberdel Baptist School.
“They’re the reason we’re here as well, because this is our future and we want to pave the way for them so they will have a foundation on which to build their faith,” Farrah added.
This year’s theme for the National Day of Prayer, Farrah added, is “Lift up the Word and light up the world,” based on II Samuel 22:29-31.
The event also featured remarks from Rockingham Mayor John Hutchinson and Commissioner Jason Gainey, who is a pastor. There were several musical performances with Alex Hutchinson on piano, and vocalists Riqui’ta Quick, a probation officer, and Barbara Brown.
There were many representatives of the local law enforcement community at the event, including Capt. Mike Childers, who is also a pastor, and Capt. P.T. Dawkins of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Evangelist Brenda Lawson also offered up a prayer for law enforcement, with all officers invited to circle around in front of the courthouse steps.
“We ask that you place a hedge of protection around them as they try to protect and serve and make it home to their families,” Lawson prayed. “In a world that seems like they’re going against you…they still keep on striving, they still show up for work…because they know…lives depend on it.”
Lawson broke down in tears toward the end of her prayer, in remembrance of the four members of a task force killed Monday while serving an arrest warrant in Charlotte earlier this week.
Among them was Samuel Poloche who, according to the sheriff’s office, was from Richmond County and worked for the local probation and parole office before joining the federal fugitive task force in 2013.
“I am thankful today of knowing that we have brave men and women that everyday put a badge on their chest and they go out into the unknown and they serve,” Childers said after citing John 15:13. “If you have nothing else to pray for, pray for your law enforcement. We greatly appreciate it.”
Zane Searcy, student body president of Richmond Senior High School, spoke about the need for prayer among the county’s youth.
“As a student, everyday I see how much sin is in our schools,” Searcy said. “The devil attacks our youth because he knows that we are the future. He wants to control us, he wants to destroy us and keep us from being obedient to God, ‘cause he knows that if we do, we will shake the foundation of the world.
Searcy added that a majority of young people know about God, “but they don’t truly know him.”
“Somehow, we have let our youth become deluded to where they believe that they can do anything they want to and have no consequences for their actions,” Searcy said. “The number of us youth that do follow God …are constantly fought against.
“The world doesn’t want us to be close to God and it is hard sometimes to go against the grain and be different.”
To combat that, Searcy said, “We have to pray.”
