Community members gathered for the Community Prayer Breakfast at the James H. and Jesse E. Millis Athletic and Convocation Center.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Dec. 6, 2019 – Today, High Point University welcomed 1,000 community members to the James H. and Jesse E. Millis Athletic and Convocation Center to kick off the holiday season with its 49th annual Community Prayer Breakfast.
“Thank God for the wonderful people that support this university,” said HPU President Nido Qubein. “Let’s worship together now. Our mission of God, family and country is carried out every day but especially during this holiday season. Christmas is not about Christmas trees, it is not about gifts, it is about remembering that Jesus Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Christmas is about how to live, how to love and how to have grace present in our visceral beings.”
Rev. Dr. L. Gregory Jones, dean of Duke Divinity School and theologian, spoke at this year’s event, sharing a message on how to carry the spirit of Christmas and embody it every day.
“Christmas is not a time of year, it’s a state of mind, a way of life,” said Jones. “The spirit that develops in December is a time to shape our lives and be a focal point for how we live. The love that comes down at Christmas is about God reconnecting us to him and reconnecting us to one another.”
The Community Prayer Breakfast is one of HPU’s signature Christmas traditions. Those in attendance enjoyed special music provided by local church choir groups and an opening carol from the HPU Chapel Choir, directed by Dr. Marc Ashley Foster.
There was also a silent prayer in memory of alumni, members of the university family, the community and friends who have died during the past year.
“Over the past five years, I have been blessed by the HPU Community Prayer Breakfast,” said Micah Ray, associate pastor of Life Community Church in Jamestown. “For me and so many others in High Point, this tradition serves to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Dr. Qubein and his staff always seem to extend a warm holiday welcome, and the musical selections by Dr. Foster are inspiring. Every element of the event is a gift that reminds us of the significance of the birth of Jesus and the joy He brings to mankind.”
HPU’s Community Prayer Breakfast is supported by Digger Enterprises, Fence Builders, Inc., Johnson’s Modern Electric, Smith & Jennings, Inc. and the Haggai Prayer Breakfast Fund.