Event has been held on courthouse steps for decades

As they have for at least three decades on the first Thursday in May, members of the Ironton Ministerial Association gathered on the steps of the Lawrence County Courthouse to pray for all aspects of American life as part of the National Day of Prayer.

Those aspects include government, the family, the military, churches, education, media and businesses.

“This is one of the most important things we do,” said Rob Hale, pastor of the Ironton First Church of the Nazarene and president of the Ironton Area Ministerial Association. “We are a very active association here in Ironton. We are very patriotic here in Ironton and we feel this is very important for our town, our county, our state and our nation.”

And all though there was a little bit of rain, the sun came out and the event went smoothly.

The event began with Chad Pemberton, a U.S. Army veteran and pastor of the 1st Tabernacle Church, leading the crowd in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.

Kelly Greco Smith, the Southern Region liaison for Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, sang the National Anthem.

The pastors who spoke were Terry Jones, of the Resurrection Hope Church UMC, who prayed for families; Carson Hunt, of the First Presbyterian Church, who prayed for the military, Yakubu Jakada, of Coal Grove Methodist Church, who prayed for the government; Isaac Carpenter, of Dwelling Place Church, who prayed for the churches; Chad Stevens, of First Nazarene Church, who prayed for education; Dave Lambert, of First Baptist Church, who prayed for the media; and Brian Davis, of the First Methodist Church, who prayed for businesses.

Afterwards, the crowd had water, chips and hot dogs, which were prepared by Lawrence County Clerk of Courts Mike Patterson.

According to the National Day of Prayer website, the first National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. 

In 1988, the law was unanimously amended by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on Thursday, May 5, 1988, designating the first Thursday of May as a day of national prayer. Every president since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation.