Prayer leaders for the Back 2 School First Annual Prayer Rally for Anna stand together August 21 in Slayter Creek Park just before calling the event to order. From left are Matt Wood, pastor at Grace and Peace Presbyterian Church of Anna, Lafe Angell, Pastor at Grace Point Family Church, Mark Wyatt Campus Pastor at Christ Fellowship Anna and Chris Jones Pastor at Crosspoint Church of Anna.
Anna Residents Gather to Pray for School Year By Joyce Godwin Photos by Xaviar Jukes and Joyce Godwin
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aura Hawkins told the group gathered at the Slayter Creek Park pavilion that she had been concerned about the Anna children starting their school year and the very best thing she could do for them was to pray. From those heartfelt moments developed a call out for others to join in prayer. The notices posted to announce the event read “Let’s unite as a community and join in prayer for the health and safety of our students and teachers. Wear your purple and white and show your coyote pride. Let’s get ready to pray and believe for a GREAT school year for all our students and teachers.” “As a parent of a first grader in the Anna ISD district, I had been feeling a roller coaster 18
of emotion with back-to-school coming up, Of course, the biggest feeling being fear,” Hawkins said after the event. “One day I felt God telling me not to live in fear! God doesn’t want me or anyone to live in fear. Then I felt Him reminding me that neither should our children. Our Children should understand and see through example the power of faith and prayer. They shouldn’t be living in fear right now either.” She recognizes the importance of the children experiencing the excitement for a new school year to begin. “There is power in prayer and the bible says in Matthew 18:20 ‘For where two or three gathers in my name, there am I with them.’ That is when I felt led to not just pray alone, but that God was saying pray with Anna Living Magazine
