The 50th Annual Prayer Breakfast was held last week by the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce. This year’s event was held virtually due to the pandemic.
Though the annual event was held on line, it was full of inspiration and hope for our community as always.
Suzanne Williams, Chamber Director, welcomed Governor Bill Lee as the service began.
“While we can’t be together in person,” Governor Lee said, “It is an honor to be a part of your 50th Annual Prayer Breakfast. There’s no doubt that the events from this year, from natural disasters, COVID and uncertainty in our communities, has left many Tennesseans with a sense of unease and feeling disheartened. But Hebrews 4:16 tells us ‘We can walk confidently together before God as we seek mercy for our state and ask for continued grace for our nation.’ As a faith community we can take comfort in knowing God does hear our prayers. And, today as we come together before the Lord, let’s take time to acknowledge our blessings, to pray for one another, seek wisdom and give thanks to God for His faithfulness.”
State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver sang the National Anthem, followed by Susan Hinton playing a combination of patriotic melodies on the piano. The pledge was led by Boy Scout Ethan Hardwick. Neil Kelly, of Ascension Saint Thomas, offered a prayer for health and our healthcare heroes. Kevin Young, of Ascension Saint Thomas, then offered a prayer for our military personnel and first responders. Chamber Director Suzanne Williams’s granddaughters, Lille and Miller Williams, read a scripture full of love from 1 Corinthians 13. Chamber President and DeKalb Drug Coalition Representative Lisa Cripps led a prayer for our families and our children. Following these prayers and words of love, hope and encouragement, Miss and Mr. DCHS Megan Cantrell and Tyzaun Ladet offered a congratulations to the chamber for its 50 year prayer breakfast anniversary. Annabella and Andrew Dakas then offered a prayer for the schools, teacher and students of DeKalb County.
This year’s guest speaker was Smithville Mayor Josh Miller. His words reminds us to have mercy and forgiveness.
“I am confident next year,” said Mayor Miller, “we will be able to come together for the prayer breakfast. With that being said, 2020 has been a year like none I’ve ever seen before. It has set forth a lot of challenges. It’s set forth a lot of challenges within our businesses. It’s set forth a lot of challenges within our families. And, it’s set forth a lot of challenges within our government. I have also seen division. I’ve seen division within our country. I’ve seen division even with our community. But there’s one thing I have to say about our community. In times past, I have always seen this community rally behind people that are hurting and that are struggling. I see it all the time. You can see it within our churches. Churches have food drives all the time. You can always see people helping people. And I think we need to remember that. Because, we need to back up, breather and remember this too shall pass. And when this has passed, we need to be united and we need to be friends.
“There’s a story in the Bible 1Kings 2 & 3, King David has passed away. Now to give you a little bit of background on King David, he was anointed by God to be king over the children of Israel. David was a man after God’s own heart, but the scriptures says that David failed many times. And it cost him lives. But David also knew what mercy and forgiveness was. God always offered His hand of mercy and forgiveness. But in chapter 3, Solomon his son, is reigning in his place. Solomon had watched his dad for years. King David was also a man of war. And at the time of his death, God had blessed him with conquering his enemies. So Solomon had come in at a pretty good place. But, Solomon did not know how to be king. He had seen his father succeed in so many things, but he asked God for an understanding heart. To me, he asked God for wisdom and common sense that he would be able to rule the children of Israel wisely.
“I don’t know about you, but many times over the last few months, I have felt inadequate to hold this position. It seems like every decision you make might be the wrong one. And you do not want to make a wrong decision. And I’m sure many of you in any time of leadership have probably felt the same way at some point over the past few months. But let me say this, our hope should never be in man alone. Our hope should not be in the president, our governor or any elected official. Our hope has to be in Jesus Christ. There’s so many people in our community, in the last few months, who have played a major role in our community – our police, our fire, my city employees have done a fabulous job. Our doctors, nurse practitioners, have put others before themselves.
“Provers 24:10 says ‘If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small.’ I feel like I even need to mention our pastors. I know they’ve struggled as well. Also those who have put their hearts and souls in to the classrooms, our teachers. I know decisions have been hard to make and times have been hard. We have a lot of people whose strength is not small. We live in one of the best places we could ever live. I am thankful for our community and I am thankful for you.”
Following Mayor Miller’s speech the Tippin family, Tom, Aaron and Thea sang “Where the eagle flies.” State Senator Mark Pody then said a prayer followed by Smithville First Baptist Church’s Pastor Chad Ramsey offered a prayer for community leaders. A beautiful son was sang by Ella and Sabrina Kirksey, followed by a prayer by Bro. Larry Green for the elderly. NHC Healthcare Administrator Ryan Vaden asked for continued prayers for the residents and healthcare workers at his facilty.
