Story By MARY BAILEY
On Thursday morning the city of Boaz held a National Day of Prayer ceremony at Old Mill Park, and it was standing room only.
Boaz Mayor David Dyar welcomed everyone to the ceremony which was followed by the VFW Flag Ceremony.
For the first time since 2020, the Boaz Intermediate Honor Choir sang a handful of songs to align with the day’s agenda.
The Proclamation Speaker was Tim Chatman, Pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church.
“Whereas on Thursday, May 1, 2025 our national recognizes its annual National Day of Prayer. Romans 15:13 says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” Pastor Chatman said to the crowd. “As in our history, Americans have turned to prayer for strength, inspiration and solidarity. Whereas prayer has played an important role in the American story in shaping our nation’s leaders.”
“How Great Thou Art” was then sang by David Kirby.
The Devotion was then read by Lynn Darnell, Pastor of Life Church in Boaz.
“If you believe He is great, let’s just praise him for a minute,” Pastor Darnell said taking the podium. “The word prayer actually has a definition. If you look it up in the Webster’s Dictionary the word prayer means to address God with adoration, confession and Thanksgiving. I had a gentleman walk up to me about three years ago and he said, I want to give you a definition of prayer you will never forget. I said, okay, and he said prayer is this. Talking to God. It is just that simple. We make it all these other things, but prayer is simply talking to God.”
“Goodness of God” was then sung by Josh Kirby.
To conclude the ceremony was Chris Bartlett, Pastor of Bridge Church of Boaz.
“Anytime you set aside the time and energy to pray is not a waste of time, it is worth every minute. I appreciate everything, the Pastors and the songs, the prayers said. Let’s get down to the business of what we’ve come to do. I am going to assume if you are here, you are not just here to have someone pray over you, you are here to participate.”
A free sack lunch and drinks were provided after the ceremony.
