National Day of Prayer event scheduled for noon Thursday

CLOVIS — Not that they’d ever take it for granted, but last year’s National Day of Prayer with participants limited to their cars made the non-pandemic events of years past just a little more special.

“I miss this openness, being able to pray with everyone,” Sistar Yancy of Clovis’ Christian Believers in advance of this year’s event in downtown Clovis. “Being together, I miss that. I’m excited we can do this again. We need prayer, we need it more than ever at this point.”

The event is scheduled for noon Thursday in front of the Curry County Courthouse, with the street blocked off to traffic for the lunch hour.

Mask wearing and social distancing will still be recommended by organizers, but Yancy feels the event will be safe outdoors with people generally distanced anyway. Yancy advised people to bring their own lawn chairs to the event.

The event will include prayers for eight different components of society — government, family, health, military, churches, media, business and schools.

“We are so excited,” said Bonetta Hutson of Clovis’ Living Word Church. All of the speakers are excited they get to be out in the fresh air and connect with everyone. Just now, churches are able to gather.”

The lineup for the program — 55 minutes so people can get back to work — includes an opening prayer, a proclamation reading from Mayor Mike Morris, the Lord’s Prayer in English and Spanish and a singing of the national anthem by the Clovis High chamber choir.

“They haven’t gotten to do anything together (since the pandemic began),” Yancy said, “so they’re very excited.”

National Day of Prayer began in 1952 following a bill signed by President Harry Truman. The law was amended in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan to designate the day as the first Thursday in May.