THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604260247
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
On Thursday, faithful people of all denominations will gather to honor God in communities large and small throughout the nation, continuing a tradition that dates back more than two centuries.
Americans have observed a national day of prayer since Colonial times. The first Thursday in May, however, was only officially set aside by Congress as a National Day of Prayer in 1988.
In Virginia Beach, the day will be observed at two, hourlong ecumenical services - one at noon in the courtyard of City Hall and another at 7 p.m. by the waters of the lake at Mount Trashmore.
Prayers at both services will be led by panels of local clergymen, and music will attend worshipers at noon as well as in the evening.
The theme of this year's National Day of Prayer is, ``Honor God,'' said Dallas Parker, local coordinator of the mid-day service. ``Honor God by remembering that He is the provider and is able to change people's thinking in regard to crime and denial of God. We will pray for national needs.''
The two words that are the focus of Thursday's nationwide services are taken from I Samuel 2:30: ``For them who honor me I will honor.''
The Rev. Kelly Burris of Kempsville Baptist Church, the Rev. Noah Stoltzfus of Landstown Community Chapel, Clarence McPherson of Agape International and Chaplain Dicky Sherrill from the Virginia Beach Correctional Center will officiate the City Hall service.
Patriotic music will be directed by the Rev. Michael Turner, minister of music at Kempsville Baptist Church.
Jennifer Shoup, program director at Foundry United Methodist Church, who organized the evening gathering at Mount Trashmore, ``went door to door'' asking businesses to contribute money to pay for newspaper advertisements in an effort to spread word of the lakeside service. Last May 2, she said, about 150 people were in attendance, and she hopes for an even bigger turnout Thursday.
Because it will take place during the evening, the service ``is geared for families,'' Shoup said.
Sing-along music and other special pieces will be played by the praise band ``Revealed.''
At Mount Trashmore, prayer leaders will be the Rev. Clarence Brown of Norfolk State University, Jerre Burke of St. Nicholas Catholic Church, the Rev. Jim Mahaffey of Foundry United Methodist Church, the Rev. William Boldin of Chesapeake's Grace Lutheran Church and Tom Barton of Beach Ford.
Observances of the National Day of Prayer will be attended by at least 5 million people nationwide, said Chuck Crismier, Virginia state coordinator for the third consecutive year.
Richmond services will take place at noon on the steps of City Hall, and others are scheduled for that same hour at various churches throughout the city.
Virginians in other communities will gather, too - in Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Culpeper - and a three-hour evening service in Northern Virginia, expected to draw 2,000, will be broadcast around the state, nation and world via satellite.
The celebration ``leaps over denominations, racial walls, over socio-economic walls,'' Crismier said. ``It's a gathering of all who are deeply concerned and wanting to pray for the state and the nation.''
Crismier, attorney, author and president of Save America Ministries, gave up his law practice after 20 years to speak to people around the country about his vision - a vision, he says, that weaves heritage with a message about what he sees as America's moral crisis and how it may be resolved.
It is Crismier's hope that Americans - and Virginians in particular - will pray together in large numbers Thursday.
It was during the Reagan administration that Congress designated the first Thursday of May the official celebration of a day Americans had marked since 1775 and the First Continental Congress.
Then, in 1952, Congress passed a joint resolution, which was signed by President Harry S. Truman, officially establishing an annual day of prayer, but, until 1988, Americans in different parts of the nation commemorated the day on various dates. by CNB