News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Folks in Sisters joined in prayer on Thursday, May 1, in an event at FivePine Lodge & Conference Center set to coincide with the National Day of Prayer.
"It's nice to see this place packed out like this," said master of ceremonies Jim Hamilton as he surveyed the full house at the Sisters Country Prayer Breakfast. "This morning is really just a chance for us to come together and reflect upon all the blessings God has bestowed upon our nation over the course of our history."
Hamilton noted that the breakfast included many regular church-goers, and others who are not.
"It's a diverse group we have here this morning, and that's as it should be, because it's a community event," he said.
The reverent and patriotic tone of the event was set by students from Sisters Christian Academy, who led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance. Joe Hosang offered a Bible reading, and the gathering was treated to beautiful vocal harmonies on worship songs by Rhonda Funk, David Bates, Lisa Morrison and Jeremy Storton.
Troy Meeder of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch was the featured speaker. Meeder and his wife, Kim, have served thousands of children in need through their youth program at the ranch east of Sisters.
"The National Day of Prayer is sacred to me because it calls on all of us to pray for our nation," he said.
In Meeder's view, it is a nation in dire need of prayer, a nation in trouble, a nation "changing for the worse." That change comes, he says, from compromising values present at the very founding of European settlement in America.
He cited William Bradford, one of the leaders of the Mayflower contingent known as the Pilgrims, who turned away from a life of relative ease and comfort to brave the challenges of the New World in order to protect and nurture a community of faith.
"Men like William Bradford were all-in," Meeder said.
He encouraged the gathering to, themselves, be all-in: "All-in for our families; all-in for our nation; all-in for our God," to act with integrity and moral character not just on Sundays but each day, so that others can look and see "there is a person that, in the heat of battle, stands for what he believes in."
Later, students from Sisters Christian Academy gathered at Barclay Park in observation of the day.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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