The 70th Assembly District’s Fourth Annual Prayer Breakfast was held Saturday, October 18th, at the Snowmobile Trails of Monroe County Building in Oakdale. There were just over 100 participants from all over the 70th Assembly District and throughout the Coulee Region that enjoyed a pancake and sausage breakfast and motivational speakers, worship in song, prayer, and fellowship.

The keynote speaker was Retired Colonel Scott Southworth (Wisconsin National Guard) who may be better known as the Military Police Commander who returned to Iraq in 2005 after serving there to bring a 10-year old boy with cerebral palsy back to the United States for medical care. He later adopted the lad and later adopted sons from Bulgaria and China. At that time he was the District Attorney in Juneau County. He is also known for being the Southworth in the landmark First Amendment decision of the U.S. Supreme Court case Southworth versus The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin. That decision forced public universities across America to ensure all viewpoints received equal treatment on campus. Attorney Southworth is now a criminal defense attorney with an office in Wisconsin Dells.

Southworth shared his personal story of adopting the three sons then shared a message on “What are we called to do?” based on Matthew 22:37-40 and John 13: 34-35. We are called to love everyone as Jesus loved you further clarifying that love is an action, not an emotion.

Pastor Jef Skinner, a Monroe County Law Enforcement Chaplain and Pastor at a Sparta’s Gospel Baptist Church, and Pastor Dave Dahl, Lead Pastor at Tomah’s Gloria De Lutheran Church, were also speakers for the breakfast; each offering a prayer.

This was the second year the breakfast was at the Snowmobile Trails of Monroe County building in Oakdale. The first year it was held at a private residence near Cataract and the second year in the machine shed at the Hall Family farm near Tunnel City. The event outgrew both those venues but the current site seems near perfect.

This is a volunteer driven event with the donations going to cover the costs. Pastor Jef Skinner has been instrumental in the planning of the event since the beginning in 2022. Volunteers – about a dozen in total – come from family members and various volunteer organizations in the District.

This is the only known legislative district prayer breakfast in Wisconsin, although there may be others. Rep Van derMeer purposely put “70th District” in the name in hopes it would continue many years into the future. She feels, and has been told by others, that this is an inspiring and encouraging event that builds a sense of community. Further, it replicates the spirit of the National Prayer Breakfast.

A 2007 news article from Randolph Air Force Base in Texas reported “The tradition of the National Prayer Breakfast began in 1942 when prayer breakfast groups were organized in the Senate and House of Representatives to meet weekly and pray for their individual spiritual needs and to affirm their dependency on God.” In 1953, with the encouragement of Evangelist Billy Graham, President Eisenhower gathered leaders to pray and celebrate our nation’s spiritual and moral heritage. President Eisenhower had told Billy Graham that the nation needed a spiritual renewal!

President Eisenhower believed that faith, patriotism, and free enterprise were the foundations of a strong nation – and that faith came first. It was when President Eisenhower was in office that the words “under God” were added to the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” was added to the currency.

Of course, there are those that push the “separation of church and state” that want to be vocal. They must be reminded of the complete First Amendment (“…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof:…”); that “separation of church and state” does not appear in the United States Constitution; and that many of the early settlers came to America for “freedom of religion” not “freedom from religion”.

If you live in the 70th Assembly District, the 70th District’s Fifth Annual Prayer Breakfast is being planned for next October. If you don’t live in the 70th, the suggestion is to talk with your own Representative! As President Eisenhower told the Evangelist Billy Graham over seventy years ago, “the nation needed a spiritual revival” and that need remains today. It may have started, but the flames of revival need to be fanned and an Assembly District Prayer Breakfast seems to be a good step forward!