The National Day of Prayer was first established in 1952. In 1988, lawmakers chose to set the date on the first Thursday in May. The Laguna Beach Interfaith Council held a prayer meeting Sunday, May 2nd, at the Laguna Beach chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Twelve faith leaders from Laguna Beach gave messages and prayers including Pastor Jay Grant (Net-Works Church), Pastor Lynn Muson Francis (Laguna Beach United Methodist Church), Ellie Eataii (Baha’i of Laguna Beach), Rev. Dr. Kathy Sizer (Laguna Beach Presbyterian Church), Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie (St. Mary’s Episcopal Church), Bishop Andy Hanson (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Pastor Roderick Echols (Neighborhood Congregational Church), Father Pat Rudolph (St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church), Kerry Mogharebi (Baha’i of Laguna Beach), Jason Feddy (Temple Isiah of Newport Beach/Jewish Collaborative of OC) and Fr. Edward Becker (Diocese of Orange).

Three members of the Laguna Food Pantry were awarded the “Make a Difference” award which highlights volunteers in our community. Congratulations to Cynthia Carson, Lesli Henderson, and Susan Thomas. There were also beautiful musical numbers from Laguna Beach high school students Caroline Kimball and Aurora Lundquist, and Linda Christensen closed the event by singing “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.

The Laguna Beach Interfaith Council represents 8 faith based organizations within our community creating multiple opportunities for building understanding and support within Laguna Beach. The purpose of The Laguna Beach Interfaith Council is to further communication and cooperation among the faith groups of Laguna Beach and the community Social Service organizations to serve the needs of this community, especially the needs of the poor, the sick and the disenfranchised. The homeless in Laguna Beach who are at the ASL (Alternative Sleeping Location) in the canyon are fed dinner every night of the year, and the Laguna Beach Interfaith Participating Churches are responsible for a major part of providing those meals. They also have food, fruit, etc. available at those dinners for the homeless to take for their breakfast the next morning.

You can watch the entire event below.