Orange County interfaith councils celebrate National Day of Prayer

Faith leaders in parts of coastal Orange County prayed Thursday as part of the National Day of Prayer to call attention to unity and to seek healing in what they say are difficult times in both the country and the world at large.

Interfaith communities gathered at celebrations held by the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council and the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council, each collective group offering up their prayers in honor of this year’s theme of “Pray Fervently in Righteousness and Avail Much.”

The theme is determined by the National Day of Prayer task force, and the holiday itself was designated in 1952 under the Truman administration.

Robert Braithwaite, president and chief executive officer of Hoag Hospital, speaks to a crowd of attendees at the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council’s community prayer breakfast on Thursday.

(Courtesy of the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council)

It is celebrated every first Thursday of May.

In his proclamation for this year’s National Day of Prayer, President Joe Biden said, “Prayer is both a personal and communal act — composed of our most intimate thoughts and a practice observed by multitudes across our diverse nation in every language, culture, religion, and belief system. On this National Day of Prayer, we recognize the profound power of prayer, grounded in deep humility and hope.”

The Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council said it distilled its theme this year to “celebrating oneness through prayer,” while the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council sought to “[pray] for healing in a troubled world.”

Jynene Johnson, of the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council, said Thursday’s breakfast at the First Christian Church on Main Street in Huntington Beach was about highlighting similarities above differences.

“We bring together all faiths because we have many common values, probably more in common than most people realize, in a way that we can highlight that all of us care about prayer,” Johnson said. “We may pray in different words, but it brings strength, comfort and foundation to so many lives that it is an opportunity to come together in prayer and show up as a community.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Newport Beach was filled with dozens of people from the community on the National Day of Prayer, which was Thursday.

(Courtesy of Andrew Nelson)

Johnson said the council chose to have Robert Braithwaite, president and chief executive officer of Hoag Hospital, as the keynote speaker, as the hospital touched many lives in the community, she said, and she knew him to be a person of faith.

As part of the program, the council highlighted more than a dozen nonprofits in the community serving underprivileged people.

The room at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Newport Beach was likewise filled with attendees, religious figures and dignitaries ready to celebrate the National Day of Prayer. Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, a Greek Catholic priest who has also served as the ecumenical and interreligious officer of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was this year’s keynote speaker.

“It was truly beautiful to pray alongside others from so many different faith traditions. Our beliefs and practices vary, but the things we pray for are the same,” said Andrew Nelson, who is part of the host church’s interfaith relations team.