WINONA LAKE – The Kosciusko County National Day of Prayer service will be held at the Winona Heritage Room, formerly Rodeheaver Auditorium, in Winona Lake at noon May 5.
This will be a one-hour program and prayer time for the community and nation. For those unable to attend, the service will be broadcast on WIOE radio (101.1 FM) at 7 p.m. May 5.
People can also watch the prerecorded service on the Kosciusko County IN National Day of Prayer YouTube channel and facebook.com/KosciuskoNDP page.
The keynote speaker is Melissa Montana. Montana is known as a strong, bold Christian leader, speaker and voice on the air as well as for her vibrant joy of the Lord, stated a provided news release. She is a prayer leader and believes in the power of prayer to unite the nation. She served in leadership at STAR 88.3 radio in Fort Wayne for over 32 years. Over 12 years ago, Montana led an executive team in the purchase of STAR. She became the CEO and president of STAR Educational Media Network. They now own 10 frequencies in the area.
Montana’s greatest joy in life is being the mom of a daughter that she brought home from Guatemala as a baby who has grown into a 23-year-old college graduate, stated the release.
In 1952, the National Day of Prayer was created by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The law was amended by both the House and Senate in May 1998 and signed by President Ronald Reagan designating annually the first Thursday of May as a day of prayer.
Representatives from the community will be leading prayers for seven focus areas. They include government, Laurie Renier, clerk-treasurer of Winona Lake; education, Joe Elrod, superintendent of Lakeland Christian Academy; ministry and missions, Dr. Freddy Cardoza, dean of Grace Theological Seminary and the School of Ministry Studies; families, Tom VanMeter, founder of Forte Residential and Forte Home Health Care; military, Joe Wilkey, founder of World Compassion Network; business, Andrea Payton, financial controller at Warsaw Community Church; media, Josh Raines, “Josh and Friends” broadcaster on Christian radio station STAR 88.3.
Music will be provided by Richard Dick and Glenn Hall.
