EVERETT — Snohomish County’s second annual prayer breakfast offered a chance to “pray for elected officials and the community you live in” on Friday morning at Angel of the Winds Arena, according it its website.
Over 600 people attended, including mayors, state representatives and County Council members, said Steve Chittenden, an organizer.
“There were pastors, elected officials, members of many local churches and people who were just curious about what happens at a Prayer Breakfast,” Chittenden wrote in a text message. “Groups at the end prayed at their tables for church unity, our elected officials and for issues like homeless and drug addiction that our communities face. It was a positive time and Jesus Christ was honored and glorified.”
The event was held on Good Friday, part of the Christian Holy Week that culminates in Easter Sunday.
No specific church hosted the event, though representatives from different faiths were in attendance, Chittenden said. Bill “Satch” Paige, a retired police officer from New York, was the keynote speaker at the event.
“There is a rich history in holding these prayer breakfasts. Snohomish County Prayer Breakfast exists to gather our community to celebrate what God is doing in our region and pray for the current challenges we face,” said prayer breakfast co-chair Jeff Judy in a video about the event.
Judy worked with Everett YMCA’s Good Friday Breakfast until he joined Chittenden to create the Snohomish County Prayer Breakfast last year.
“COVID hit and the YMCA decided not to do it anymore, so we just picked up the slack if you will,” Chittenden said.
Last year marked the first time the local event had been held since the pandemic. This year saw even stronger attendance, Chittenden said.
In the other Washington, a Christian evangelical organization called the International Foundation ran the National Prayer Breakfast for decades until Congress took control of it last year.
“We know that prayer is important,” Chittenden said. “When we pray, God moves, and the problems that that we are facing in our communities are really spiritual problems. And so when we pray, God will move in our communities.”
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