Before the students head back to the classroom next week, community leader Martiza Meeks — a minister and the H.L. Neblett Community Center Director — is inviting the community to an event this Wednesday morning to pray over the families and children starting the 2024-25 school year.
Led by the 2 Timothy verse “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind,” Meeks said every family can use this verse as a reminder for the school year.
“With the shooting at the Neblett [last year], the issues the teachers face, the new administration in the schools, and new superintendents, it’s just so many different things,” Meeks said.
Though Meeks is the executive director of the Neblett, she said this initiative is led under her title as a minister. She said prayer is not a matter of an organization praying over the community but of the community praying together.
“This is a call to prayer; that’s the primary focus. There’s no church name, just a band of believers coming out of all colors touching and agreeing all on one accord to cover our youth in this school year,” Meeks said.
As for short-term impact, Meeks hopes that families participating and those in the schools will walk away with a sense of comfort and confidence for the school year ahead.
“My truest hope is that they walk away with the confidence that God has given us. That He has not given us the spirit of fear, but the one of power, love, and a sound mind. That’s the takeaway and my hope that we walk by the fruit of the Spirit more and we model it for our kids,” Meeks said.
Looking ahead, Meeks hopes this becomes an annual prayer event for the community as schools prepare to start each year.
She said that often, people get distracted by labels and divisions and are not able to see the similarities among each other. She hopes to start a powerful change throughout the community that will affect many to come.
“We have got to understand and walk in that power that He’s given us. I think a lot of times, we get caught up in what we see, and it looks dismal and scary, and we have to remember that we are fortified,” Meeks said.
The prayer will start at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Moreland Park.
