Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 6, 1995                   TAG: 9504180023
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PRAYER BREAKFAST'S 25TH YEAR CELEBRATED BY 5 CHURCHES

The beginning celebration will be at 7 a.m .at Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1563 Lafayette Blvd. N.W., where the first breakfast was held in 1970. That breakfast was promoted by two men associated with the parish, the late Rev. Robert S. Allison and the late James Prunty.

The only surviving member of the original breakfast group, Raymond Steptoe, will speak at Sunday's event, which like all the meals is open to the public.

Now 64, Steptoe said he has outlived all the other early supporters. He recalls that Allison, his pastor at the time, saw the need for a systematic prayer time, which would be engaged in by laity as well as the ordained, for the community. Once a men's group, the breakfast later was expanded to include women. Though it has always been open to people of any race, Steptoe said the breakfast is attended primarily by black Christians, "except for when politicians come."

It started as a monthly gathering but now attracts 35 to 50 people each Sunday morning. Over the years four Baptist churches joined in support so that now the meeting place is rotated among Slate Hill Baptist on the first Sunday, Ebenezer on the second, Jerusalem Baptist on the third, Bethlehem Baptist on the fourth and Williams Memorial when there is a fifth Sunday.

All the meals are coordinated by lay people and supported by the minister of the churches involved. At Slate Hill and Williams Memorial, the pastor is the coordinator.

Although the meal is free, those partaking generally give a donation to cover the cost of the food, said James St. Clair, a longtime supporter.

Reflecting on his years of attendance, Steptoe said prayer and fellowship among participating churches probably have contributed most to the value of the gatherings. Also, each week a speaker presents educational or devotional material.