The Canby Prayer Breakfast is still planning to return to an in-person event later this year, but it won’t happen on the National Day of Prayer next month.
The Canby event has traditionally coincided with the National Day of Prayer since its inception 17 years ago, and was originally scheduled to return to an in-person gathering (with caps on attendance) on May 6.
But that has now changed, based on Clackamas County’s return to the extreme risk tier of the governor’s reopening framework amid a rising fourth wave of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations this month.
Event organizers met Thursday morning and made the difficult decision to postpone until the fall, Canby Center Executive Director Ray Keen, told The Canby Current.
“It is a bummer but it doesn’t keep us from praying,” Keen said. “We will still encourage people in Canby to pray for our community, our state and our country at noon on the National Day of Prayer on May 6.”
Keen cited last year’s experience as a factor in organizers’ decision not to transition to a Zoom event for May 6, but to instead postpone the in-person gathering in the hopes that conditions improve.
“We just feel that the process of trying to coordinate prayer over a Zoom call is a challenge,” Keen admitted. “It can be awkward, and we’re just as equipped to pray on our own.
“And, we would really highly value the opportunity to come together as a community for prayer, so that’s what we’re going to be aiming for.”
Previously known as the Canby Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, the popular annual event is organized by the local Christian faith community and centers around community members praying for Canby’s leaders and first responders.
Canby Mayor Brian Hodson and new City Administrator Scott Archer were planned to give brief remarks at this year’s event.
