Over two hundred people gathered together in White House, Tennessee on May 4, to celebrate the National Day of Prayer. The event was hosted by White House Area Chamber of Commerce at the Fran Hutson Amphitheater.

The National Day of Prayer was first passed by the United States Congress and celebrated in 1952. On May 5, 1988, the law was amended to designate the first Thursday of May each year as the National Day of Prayer.

Until four years ago, the city of White House did not recognize this day publicly. However, three community leaders with similar visions were able to work together to bring the Community Day of Prayer to life. 

Jim Ring II, Assistant Police Chief for the White House Police Department, took off work the first Thursday of May in 2019 and planned to attend a National Day of Prayer Service somewhere nearby. He shockingly discovered that there were none being offered in White House nor in the surrounding cities. Ring was determined to create a celebration for the National Day of Prayer by the following year. 

Meanwhile, Fran Hutson, member of the city’s Leisure Services Board and of whom Fran Hutson Amphitheater was named after in 2016, was dreaming about using the amphitheater as a place where an interdenominational praise team composed of different worship leaders from the community could come together and lead praise and worship for the community on a regular basis. 

Ring and Hutson were put in touch by Mandy Christianson, President of the White House Area Chamber of Commerce, and the three went on form the original committee that put on the first Day of Prayer celebration in White House in 2020. The first committee also had three other members: Pastor Bob Cook, Kim Reid, and Mark Barrow. 

This year’s planning committee consisted of Ring, Hutson, Christianson, and Reid. There were two services, one at 7:30 am and another at 6:30 pm. Both services were live streamed to the White House Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. 

Many community leaders and business owners offered their time to help coordinate and host the event. 

The morning service consisted of scripture readings, prayers, songs, and the history of the National Day of Prayer. The speakers for the morning service were: Jim Ring II, Tal Plumlee, Dr. Chris Givens, Ira & Deborah Wade, Jeff Witt, Kim Hass, The Payne Family, and Joe Ray. Performances were made by Bethany Stepleton, Sam Hagler, and Dre Boyle.

The evening service heavily emphasized praise and worship and was hosted by a variety of local worship leaders including: Bill Petty, Kyle Hale, Kevin Tobias, Stacy Saunders, Russ Saunders, and Ashley Smith. Speakers were Kim Reid, Fran Hutson and Jim Ring II, and Christina Douglas was the sign language interpreter. 

Next year’s Community Day of Prayer will take place on May 2, 2024.

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