CRESTVIEW — As the First Presbyterian Church of Crestview’s chimes played “Fairest Lord Jesus,” nearly 50 residents gathered on the Okaloosa County Courthouse lawn and bowed their heads during the National Day of Prayer.
Organized by the Crestview Area Ministerial Association, the Thursday evening worship was led by five pastors and Clerk of Court J.D. Peacock.
“This is the second year doing this here,” the Rev. Paul Mixon, pastor of Central Baptist Church, said. “There are some places in this country where we couldn’t do this.”
Mixon expressed hope that while the new courthouse is under construction next year, the National Day of Prayer will be observed in the same place, though outside the construction fence.
Mixon and the Reverends Jim Vail of First Baptist Church of Baker; Dale Walters of Joy Fellowship; Mark Broadhead of First Presbyterian Church and Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church; Jerry Nelson of Live Oak Baptist Church; and Sam Park of Global Mission Baptist Church led the congregation in prayers for the nation, its leaders and its churches.
Park, a Korean-American, joked that “Even though I prefer kimchee over hamburgers, we all love the same God,” then performed “These Are the Days of Elijah” on his guitar as the people clapped in rhythm or raised their hands in adoration.
“I loved it,” James Small, a Shoal River Middle School eighth-grader said of the service. “It was really nice that all of us Christians as a community can join together like this.”
“It was fun,” Crestview High School freshman Raheem Perdue said. “It was cool being all together like that.”
“It was real sweet,” resident Barbara Adams said.
After sifting through her mail and finding inflammatory political ads and surveys, “I knew I just had to get myself down to the courthouse and pray,” Adams said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview area residents observe National Day of Prayer at Okaloosa courthouse