Aurora church offers drive-thru option as part of National Day of Prayer event
Thyrothica Hill of Aurora dropped by Wesley United Thursday morning on the National Day of Prayer.
'I think having a National Day of Prayer is absolutely wonderful as well as someone offering the opportunity to pray outside of a church if they want to,' Hill said as she sat in her car. 'There are days when some people, they might not even realize that they need prayer. They need someone to let them know that things will be OK, because there may be some who, at the end of the day, are at their last hope.'
The 24-hour prayer event began at the church at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the church's meeting space and continued the following day with drive-thru prayers offered from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and again from 5 to 6 p.m.
A closing gathering was scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Wesley's prayer garden on the west side of the church at 14 N. May St. in Aurora.
The drive-thru option drew only a handful of parishioners who talked and prayed with the Rev. Tammy Scott, Wesley United's lead pastor, who noted after the event that there was an unexpected spin-off that occurred.
'We didn't get a lot of people with the drive-thru but throughout the day more than a dozen people went into the sanctuary to pray which I thought was great,' Scott said. 'Because of that, we're thinking of opening the church one day a week during the work week and seeing if people want to continue to use it for prayer.'
Bridget Hawkins of Aurora said the drive-thru option at the church on the National Day of Prayer was a good idea.
'In the times we're living, it may be even more important to take time for something spiritual rather than worrying about politics or the price of eggs,' she said. 'Having this drive-thru – it's OK if only a few come. I thinking it's a wonderful thing because a lot of people might not know about prayer. A lot of people might need this. If you're not comfortable going into a building – me, I don't walk into a church every Sunday, but I do go online and I pray every day.'
The National Day of Prayer is always celebrated on the first Thursday of May. Church officials referred to the 24-hour observance as the 'Prayer of the 100th,' adding that the event also marked the 100th day of the Trump administration.
Scott said the 24-hour event was actually organized by the United Methodist Church of Libertyville 'who invited other organizations to jump on board with their planning of the event.'
'This is the first time we've done something like this. On Wednesday night, we held a virtual kick-off where people came into our gathering space and we live streamed here at Wesley the event that Libertyville was doing and watched it together,' Scott said.
Scott said the 100th day of the Trump administration just happened to coincide with this year's National Day of Prayer and that rather than it being something political, 'this was just an opportunity to highlight both as they occurred pretty much at the same time.'
'That idea was also organized by Libertyville and we just tagged on to their starting prayer on the 100th day of the administration and going through for 24 hours into the National Day of Prayer. It was sort of a unique opportunity that the 100th day (of Trump's administration) was the day before the national prayer day,' Scott said. 'It was just a way to sort of name both days and having some purpose and need for prayer. This was an opportunity to bring strength and unity in our community in a local setting.
'I think prayer is something that unites us even across states and setting aside a day that's not a national day of Christian prayer but a National Day of Prayer and inviting interfaith communities to come together,' Scott said. 'It helps us recognize that there's more that unites us than divides us, and hopefully we can move forward in unity as opposed to where we are different.'
Hill said in her view, 'there are people who can feel that all is lost and that if nobody is there for you, God is.'
Chet Donelson of Aurora said the National Day of Prayer is important, saying 'I believe in a higher power.'
'Prayer is what you make it. Prayer and wishes are the same thing,' he said. 'I went to Vietnam and didn't pray, but if prayer works – do it. I think it's good for the country to have a day like this. If you believe in something you go for it. For those who seek it or need (prayer), it's there.'
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