Greenwood community comes together at mayor’s prayer breakfast

With conflict and violence taking place across the world, peace and safety are on the minds of many in 2023.

This includes Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers, who asked for community members and leaders to pray for this during the 32nd Greater Greenwood Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Saturday morning at the Greenwood Fieldhouse.

The prayer breakfast is an event organized by the Christian Business Men’s Connection of Greenwood, where community members, city and county officials, and some state officials gather to pray for the mayor, city and county government, the schools and local law enforcement. Saturday’s breakfast was the first one to take place at the Greenwood Fieldhouse, as previous breakfasts took place at The Nest, a local event center that relocated to Indianapolis.

CBMC member Bruce Richardson prayed for the president and the nation said how wonderful he thinks it is for people to be able to come together in a public place and have “the privilege of prayer.” He also discussed the recent nonstop, two-week prayer session at Asbury University in Kentucky, which brought tens of thousands of people from across the country to the Christian campus.

“We know that the same Holy Spirit that’s down there will be here with us in Greenwood, so we pray that your presence will be with us,” Richardson said.

The prayer breakfast has been a city tradition through four administrations, said R. Lee Money, master of ceremonies at the breakfast and member of CBMC. The breakfast draws hundreds of community members each year.

This year, Greenwood Mayoral Candidate Joe Hubbard, who is challenging Myers in the Republican primary, attended the prayer breakfast. Money acknowledged this in his remarks, saying there were political opponents in the room, but the breakfast isn’t about politics.

“This is not about anything but prayer for the city and this entire community,” Money said. “… I am particularly conscious of prayer for those working against each other, understanding that this is about this community and good people who simply are trying to serve.”

Each year, after the prayers, the mayor gives a speech thanking the community for their support. This year, Myers discussed several things he had mentioned in his State of the City address, which took place at the fieldhouse two days prior.

Myers discussed public safety improvements, the city’s parks and quality of life improvements. He also discussed the Greenwood Park Mall shooting, and how in the aftermath, people of different faiths were able to come together and pray.

“We were all able to sit together and pray for this city, pray for hope, and pray that those wounds will be healed and that peace will come back,” Myers said.

He later asked attendees to pray for safety, saying there is a lot of spiritual warfare not just happening in the city, but across the nation. It needs to stop, he said.

“The way it’ll stop, is if you get on our knees and we pray for peace, we pray for safety,” he said. “We pray for all the people here in this room.”

Following Myers’ remarks were performances by Christian musicians Steve and Annie Chapman, this year’s guest speaker. The Chapmans, who hail from West Virginia, have performed family-focused music at over 2,500 churches across the nation, along with at various conference centers and events. They’ve appeared on TV programs including “Billy Graham Crusade” and “The 700 Club,” and their songs have aired on radio stations.

The Chapmans performed songs about baseball, family and faith during Saturday’s prayer breakfast. They shared stories behind their songs and said they hope their songs would help guide attendees on their spiritual journeys.

Steve Chapman’s mother was the first in his family to come to Jesus Christ, he said. This happened right after his parents married, and when she was on her to work, he said before performing “Down To Logan,” a song about his mother’s experience.

“One woman, one decision, changed an entire generation,” Steve Chapman said after the performance. “I will be forever grateful for the choices she made to follow Christ.”

They also discussed their 44-year marriage, and how they’ve leaned on the Bible for guidance. One particular section they’ve looked at is in Philippians, which talks about putting others first, Steve Chapman said.

“It’s not that we have personal needs, but it’s the mind of Christ to see the other’s needs that are more important,” Chapman said.

Annie Chapman shared a story from early in their marriage involving their neighbor. They became friends with the neighbor, and one day they asked her about what she missed most about her late husband. The answer came quickly to the woman, who said, “What if?” This is chronicled in the Chapmans’ song “What If?”

“So those two words then, for a young couple with little, ‘itty bitty’ kids, just seared into us and became a part of our marriage DNA,” Annie Chapman said.