With the religious community continuing to adapt to Butler County's COVID-19 outbreak, area clergy and spiritual leaders announced that they are encouraging a unified daily call to prayer for residents who may feel confined by stay-at-home guidelines and separation from their religious community.

Participants of all denominations and spiritual affiliations are encouraged to join in prayer daily at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. wherever they may be located.

“I think right now we're all missing and craving community,” said the Rev. Merry Meloy, pastor of Saint Andrews United Presbyterian in Butler. “It helps to know that other folks in the community have stopped what they are doing and are pausing to pray.”

Meloy said the idea came from one of her church's members.

“He's a person of deep faith that comes from the World War II generation,” she said.

Meloy shared the idea with Butler's interfaith ministerium, an informal monthly gathering of area religious and spiritual organizations that was created by local clergy and community leaders together with Congregation B'nai Abraham in the aftermath of the Tree of Life Shooting.

“Immediately everybody jumped on board,” Pastor Tara Lynn of Grace of Grace @ Calvary Evangelical Lutheran church said of the call to prayer. “Right now it's getting the word out to do it where they are and know that you're not alone in doing this.”

Participating churches are sharing the idea on their websites and social media.

“People of faith historically strengthen each other by coming together,” Meloy said of the inspiration for the idea. “This is a way we can do that without physically coming together.”