Forty Days of Prayer begins Friday and the community is invited to a kick-off prayer that will be held at noon in the lobby of City Hall.
Forty Days is a community-wide campaign that is intended to unite local residents and use the power of prayer to help improve the quality of life in El Dorado and Union County.
El Dorado City Council Member Judy Ward was instrumental in launching 40 Days in 2015 in response to the tragic death of an 11-year-old El Dorado boy -- Comesico Pumphrey -- who was shot by a stray bullet as he helped to mow his grandmother's yard in preparation for a neighborhood block party in the area of East Cook and Louisiana.
The bullet traveled nearly three blocks west of the area in which the shot was fired. The shooting stemmed from an altercation between a group of men.
At the time, 40 Days -- which was mirrored after a similar event in Peoria, Illinois -- focused on quelling violence and increasing the peace in El Dorado.
The local campaign has since expanded to cover myriad topics that affect the community.
Ward also said that she has heard from people outside El Dorado, Union County and Arkansas who have said they follow and participate in the local event each year in their home cities.
Forty Days coordinators represent a cross-section of the community, including laypersons and civic, community and faith leaders from various churches, who select prayer topics, observations and supporting biblical texts.
Topics are submitted by local residents.
Over the course of 40 days, the prayer topics are disseminated throughout the community by word of mouth, social media and the El Dorado News-Times.
The topics change each day.
Forty Days starts Oct. 1 and will end Nov. 9.
An organizational meeting was held Aug. 30, during which coordinators announced that prayer itself -- or rather, "Thankful for the Avenue of Prayer" -- will be the first prayer topic.
Earlier this week, coordinators released the full list of topics that will cover the entire 40-day run and some practical suggestions for participants, including:
• Choose a specific time and place to pray each day and make sure that is a "time when you are alert" and in a place that is free of distractions.
• Read the specific prayer requests for the day to help maintain focus on the "petitions you will be offering."
• For married couples and families, consider praying together.
• Take a moment to read the accompanying biblical scripture aloud before praying in order to "clear your mind and prepare your heart for your conversation with God."
The prayer guide is designed to expand participants' prayer repertoire beyond routine requests, coordinators said.
Participants are encouraged to use each day's submission as a starting point for their own prayer schedule for the daily topic.
Daily prayer topics range from peace in the community, nation and world to praise of God, a cure for the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, marriages, families, children, health care professionals, nursing home residents and workers, poverty, the U.S. Armed Forces, racial equality, local business owners, churches, nonprofit organizations, foster care/adoption, emergency responders, safety in schools, government leaders and more.
The annual Prayer Walk is set for 6:30 p.m. on November 3.
The walk will follow its usual route, starting at the El Dorado Police Department headquarters.
Participants will then move to City Hall, cross the street to the El Dorado School District administration/central office and end at the Union County Courthouse for fellowship.
"Prayer warriors" will lead prayers at each stop.
Ward said the Prayer Walk typically attracts a sizable crowd, noting that many local churches substitute their weekly, Wednesday evening services with the Prayer Walk.
For more information and for updates about 40 Days of Prayer, visit eldorado40.com.