N.C. community praying for jobs
LENOIR, N.C. (AP) – After years of layoffs at furniture plants, the county with North Carolina’s highest unemployment rate held a day of prayer hoping it would help end tough economic times. About 200 people gathered at the Caldwell County Fairgrounds last Sunday to seek divine intervention for a community coping with a 13.1 percent jobless rate.
“People are down and out,” said the Rev. Rodney Raby, who organized the event. “They need some help. They need support.”
Raby, pastor of Nazareth Advent Christian Church in Lenoir, gave opening remarks before “Amazing Grace.”
“It’s a rarity for folks to have a steady job,” said Kevin Matheson, pastor of The Church of His Holy Spirit in Lenoir. “Some people have just given up here.”