Prayer meets civic duty on courthouse lawn before Election Day

Mt. Pleasant — Ahead of city and school elections set for Tuesday, Nov. 4, friends, community leaders, and strangers gathered on the Henry County Courthouse Lawn, Sunday, Oct. 26 to pray for local leaders, students and one another and turning civic preparation from a private errand to a community act.

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Nearly 40 people, which included a mix of current and former officeholders, churchgoers, and residents who wandered over from the sidewalk, joined the Sunday afternoon gathering for something event organizer Melanie Patton described as “a way to remind people that God is in charge, and when we seek Him, He brings unity and shows us answers we haven’t thought of.”

Patton said she organized the event after feeling prompted by God a few weeks earlier to bring residents together in prayer before Election Day as a spiritual and civic act of engagement.

“Father, we thank you for your power, your presence and your word today,” Patton opened the time of prayer. “Thank you for each and every person that came out today to seek you for our communities and our families.”

Patton quoted from Bible verse Matthew 18:19-20 and John 1:14 as she thanked God for his presence in the moment and in lives. Patton and others then continued in prayer for city and county leaders, teachers and students, law enforcement officers, emergency workers and military service members.

Patton prayed for Mt. Pleasant and surrounding towns including Wayland, Salem, New London, and others and asked for blessing, wisdom, and selfless leadership at every level of government.

“We ask that you would give wisdom to the leaders in our towns, cities, county and schools,” she prayed.

Additional prayers focused on teachers’ mental health, creativity, and spiritual strength, students’ peace and purpose, and policies shaped by wisdom. Patton also specifically prayed against violence and for schools to be “places of refuge, safety, and learning.”

Prayers for law enforcement, emergency responders, military members and veterans asked for strength, wisdom, peace, and safety.

Finally, Patton asked for a “new wind of hope” to bring families together, neighbors to reach out to one another, and businesses to serve their communities. She prayed that residents would embrace “Midwest kindness” and conversations rooted in love and truth.

Many prayers centered on unity, love and hope, themes Patton said reflected the purpose of the event.

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Patton is very familiar with the Henry County Courthouse, and not just because she commonly chooses to walk around it in prayer on her own, but because she makes it a priority to be front and center at as many government meetings as she can. With many community members appreciating her commitment to recording meetings and posting them online, Patton said it is common for people to reach out to her and ask for her opinion on how to vote.

“People will specifically ask me … who should I vote for?” she said. “And I try to point them to facts. Like, well, this is what they said, or I've seen this happen. So make up your own mind. You have to have your own opinion.”

So, this particular gathering was not aimed at supporting any specific political agenda. It was simply something Patton says God asked her to do.

“It felt right to stand where decisions are made and pray for the people making them,” she said.

This was Patton’s second courthouse prayer gathering. She organized a similar event last year during the county’s public debate over wind turbines. This year’s, she said, was not tied to a single controversy but to a broader desire for healing and cooperation.

Several attendees contacted her afterward to say they left feeling hopeful. Others who watched a video of the prayer online said they wanted to see similar gatherings continue.

“It gives you confirmation you’re doing the right thing,” Patton said.

For Patton, prayer is not a retreat from public life but a way to participate in it — a means of seeking direction and unity before voters cast their ballots.

“When we pray for our community,” she said, “we’re already part of making it better.”

Iowa’s city and school elections are held in odd-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Polls open Tuesday, Nov. 4. Voters can find registration and polling information through the Iowa Secretary of State’s website or the Henry County auditor’s office.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com