Jacksonville chosen as site for 2011 Global Day of Prayer
Latest News Friday, June 11th, 2010City Will Serve as the First U.S. City to Anchor Worldwide Religious Event
JACKSONVILLE, FL – The International Board for the Global Day of Prayer has chosen Jacksonville-First Coast to serve as the worldwide anchor city for the 2011 religious event. The annual event will take place on Pentecost Saturday, June 11, 2011 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium or Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena and is expected to draw 15,000+ attendees.
Global Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement which started in Cape Town, South Africa in 2000 to unite Christians for worship through praise and prayer while mobilizing the church to become involved in social issues. The God Channel will stream the event live to approximately 400 million Christians in 220 countries on June 11, 2011, and there will be meetings, tours and events associated with Global Day of Prayer in Jacksonville in the days leading up to Pentecost.
“Jacksonville will be the first U.S. city to anchor this global event,” said Charley Christie, event organizer for the 2011 Global Day of Prayer. “It made sense to choose a city like Jacksonville which, in 1564, proved to be the ‘spiritual gateway’ to North America led by the French Huguenots who erected a cross at Fort Caroline. This sparked the first Christian celebration in the new world and we find it fitting to bring the 2011 Global Day of Prayer to such a place.”
Visit Jacksonville Interim President and CEO Mya Surrency added, “We are pleased to welcome the 2011 Global Day of Prayer and the event’s attendees to Jacksonville. Our city feels honored to have been chosen as the anchor location for the world and is in good company with other past host cities such as Hong Kong and Cape Town.”
On May 23, the Jacksonville- First Coast celebration for the 2010 Global Day of Prayer was held in Metropolitan Park in Downtown Jacksonville. As a result of this year’s event, two further initiatives were introduced: a neighborhood prayer walk through Transform Northeast Florida and a Christian Resource Center to strengthen families.
For more information, log on to www.fcgdop.org or www.globaldayofprayer.com.
