Participants of the National Day of Prayer ceremony Thursday at Tracy Park in Portsmouth included Dr. Clyde Fenton, left, Carolyn Fenton, and Lisa Roberts, right, ringing bells.
The National Day of Prayer included members of SOLACE, The Apostolic Coalition and the Fix the Scioto County Problem of Drug Abuse, Misuse and Overdose group on Facebook.
Church bells were coordinated to ring throughout the city at noon while participants in Tracy Park rang hand bells.
“This is a beautiful day for Scioto County. Today, we are not concentrating on a single area of concern, we are here to offer heartfelt prayers,” said Frank Thompson, one of the event organizers. “Positive steps have been taken in the last year. We are here today to offer thanks for continuous improvement.
Thompson said that as the state and nation look to Scioto County because of recent news and television reports of the prescription drug problem, the community has seen a “tremendous grassroots movement dedicated to positive changes.”
However, he said, the area still faces heartbreak and suffering.
“We are learning to not let evil impede our progress, we’ve learned to help each other and to rely upon each other with the many gifts people have to achieve the common good,“ Thompson said. “Make no mistake, good is defeating evil here in Scioto County.”
After the ceremony in Tracy Park, participants marched to the Scioto County Courthouse.
“We prayed for the judges and all of those in court,” march organizer Tom Rayburn said.
Three more marches are scheduled, Rayburn said: May 12 around the Portsmouth City Building, May 19 in Farley Square and May 26 in the east end with two groups east and west of Campbell Avenue. All marches start at 7 p.m.
The Apostolic Coalition has scheduled seven marches in Portsmouth to raise awareness of the area’s prescription drug abuse problem.
WAYNE ALLEN may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 208, or wallen@heartlandpublications.com.
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