Mayor speaks of transformation at Prayer Breakfast
Photo by Shari Harris
Those in attendance at Mayor Scott Ogden’s first prayer breakfast gathered for a group photo to mark the occasion.
By Shari Harris, Publisher
Licking Mayor Scott Ogden and the City of LIcking hosted the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on Friday at Licking’s Old City Park. More than 50 people were in attendance at the event.
Keegan Friend opened the Breakfast with prayer, then pancakes and sausage, prepared by City employees, were enjoyed by most present. The hot food was welcome on a chilly morning.
On behalf of the Licking Ministerial Alliance, Pastor Erin McConnell, of LIcking Pentecostal Holiness Church, welcomed the new mayor. He thanked those serving and cooking, and the mayor for hosting the breakfast.
Pastor McConnell spoke of how blessed the citizens were to be living in a community that values prayer. He urged all to keep the Lord at the center of everything they do.
Pastor McConnell remembered Mayor Keith Cantrell and his wife Marilyn in prayer. He prayed for Mayor Scott Ogden, City Hall, the aldermen and employees of the City, the school administration, the United Community Help Center, the Senior Center, and all those behind the scenes who make the community what it is.
Pastor Paul Richardson, of Licking Assembly of God, expressed that it is the shared community that makes us special. He gave thanks for the leaders at the City, in the city’s churches, throughout the community and in the schools.
The final speaker of the morning was Mayor Scott Ogden, who read from his great-grandfather, Robert Miller’s bible. He quoted Romans 12:2 – “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (KJV).
Mayor Ogden related that he is trying to fill the shoes of the previous mayor, Keith Cantrell. But he acknowledged that there will be change. He added that change isn’t just inevitable, it is holy. With transformation, he encouraged all to allow hope to come in. Biblical hope is confident, he explained, and he urged those attending to embrace change with hope.
Now while the community is in a season of transformation, he asked the community to lean into change, stand together and hope. He asked God to transform us.
“With God, every change is a chance, and every season is a seed of something new,” he concluded.
Photos by Shari Harris
