Third Annual Pre-Watch Night Prayer Walk
On Monday December 30, 2022 the City of Newark and The Positive Community hosted America’s 3rd annual Pre-Watch Night Candlelight Prayer Walk. The Walk was done in recognition of the 161th anniversary (1863-2023) of the Great Emancipation; the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. On that day, freedom came to 3.5 million of our people held captive in the Confederate states. And this happened two years into the Civil War; a war that cost over 700,000 American lives!
The Prayer Walk demonstrates appreciation and gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives for American freedom. Clergy leaders prayed in honor of our ancestors on whose shoulders we stand; they also prayed for the health and prosperity of present and future generations—”Thou who brought us thus far on the way…” Together we affirmed a united commitment to loving, selfless service, and the mighty community building ideals of positive change: self-acceptance, self reliance and self-respect!
Dozens joined in a walk from Lincoln Park at the facade of 2nd Presbyterian Church (where President elect Lincoln addressed abolitionists just before his inauguration), to the steps of City Hall. Special thanks to the City of Newark, Hon. Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, Newark Councilwoman; Rev. Charles Boyer of Salvation and Social Justice; Rev. Frances Teabout General Baptist Convention of NJ; and the Newark Police Department. Shout outs to Newark Ecuminical Clergy Alliance and the New Garden State Jurisdiction of Church of God in Christ for their encouragement and support. — TPC staff
