×
×
homepage logo
STORE

Prayer breakfast to feature Ben Carson

By CJ HADDAD / cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com - | May 2, 2022

Dr. Ben Carson

More than 2,500 Southwest Floridians will gather next Thursday at a large venue in observance of the National Day of Prayer.

The Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast takes place May 5 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, with Dr. Ben Carson set to deliver a keynote address.

The annual event is expected to draw more than 2,500 attendees to the Lee County Sports Complex and is held on the National Day of Prayer, an annual observance on the first Thursday of May when individuals of all faiths join in unified prayer for continued blessings on the nation. Every year, local, state and federal observances are held from sunrise to sunset across the nation and attracts more than 2 million people. Except for 2021, when the event was not held due to the pandemic, the Fort Myers community has been honoring the National Day of Prayer since the Community Prayer Breakfast’s inception in 1988, originally put on by the Price Foundation.

“It feels great to be back and be able to meet in person, and 2,500 folks feel the same way,” said Ron Inge, chairman of the board of the Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast, Inc.

This is the first year the breakfast will be held at Hammond Stadium. The venue change was made to accommodate the increased interest, as prior venues held a little over 1,000 individuals.

“The prayer breakfast is designed to focus around the National Day of Prayer,” Inge said. “The goal is to just give thanks to God for how he’s blessed our country, our state, our city, each one of us individually. We really have it made if we just sit and think about it. This is just a chance to pause and thank God for all of those blessings.”

Carson, a world-renowned retired pediatric neurosurgeon and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will serve as the keynote speaker for the breakfast. Carson is now founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute. The mission of this new think tank is to promote four founding principles that are cornerstones of the country: faith, liberty, community and life, as well as to pursue common sense solutions that challenge conventional groupthink. In his keynote address, Carson — a former presidential hopeful — will share his personal story and faith journey, drawing from recent national and global events.

“What’s great about Dr. Carson is that he’s been to the area before, but has spoken to much smaller groups,” Inge said. “This is a chance for a much larger group of folks to hear him who otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance. He has a calmness that will convey itself to the community. In spite of all the things we have going on and all of the difficulties we have, there’s still hope. There’s still a way to move forward. God has blessed us. Let’s put our faith where it belongs.”

Breakfast starts at 6:05 a.m. with the program starting at 7. The event is free and while 2,500 tickets have been distributed, Inge said he’s hopeful that individuals that want to attend day-of can do so.

More than three dozen local businesses and organizations are sponsoring the Community Prayer Breakfast. Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast, Inc. organizes the annual event and is led by board members Inge, John Noland, Carl Barraco, and Gary Trippe.

“We’ve had such an outpouring of support for our event and Mr. Carson as our speaker,” Inge said. “We hope this sets the foundation for this to continue into the future, and be able to host events such as this every year on the National Day of Prayer for our community.

Hammond Stadium is at the Lee County Sports Complex at 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway in Fort Myers.

–Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj