A prayerful breakfast

The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, will be the keynote speaker at the ninth annual National Day of Prayer Breakfast sponsored by the Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council.

The event will be held this year on May 4 reports Rev. Julie Elkins of the First United Methodist Church of Costa Mesa.

Edgar leads a movement for Christian unity that represents approximately 45 million congregants. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Edgar was president of the Claremont School of Theology from 1990 to 2000 and served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1974 to 1987.

Previous speakers at the breakfast have included radio host Hugh Hewitt; Rabbi Mark S. Miller of Temple Bat Yahm; Rev. Rafael Luevano, chair of the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange; poet James Bruce Joseph Sievers; James Doti, president of Chapman University; Judge Steve Bromberg; George Saint-Laurent of Cal State Fullerton; former Costa Mesa Council member Libby Cowan; Irvine School board member Margie Wakeham; and Marvin Meyer of Chapman University.

“We will have clergy and laity in attendance from over 35 congregations representing various Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Bahai, Sikh and Hindu faiths,” Elkins said.

The breakfast is being held at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 2850 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

Doors will open at 7 a.m. Breakfast will be followed by prayers and scripture readings. The cost of the breakfast is $12.50 per person, and a table for eight is $100. Reservations are required. For more information or to make reservations, visit www.nmiinterfaith.org or call (714) 921-8665.

WEAR RED, WHITE AND BLUE

Longtime Newport Beach resident and community volunteer Pat Smith died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Around the time of the Los Angeles Olympics, Smith owned “Did You Say Red White and Blue?” a store in Lido Village. Whenever she volunteered at the Taste of Newport, which she did for some 16 years, you would find her dressed head-to-toe in red, white and blue.

With the help of Newport Beach City Manager Homer Bludau, Smith was the driving force behind the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Newport Beach, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research and patient treatment.

Smith’s legacy, the Fifth Annual Relay for Life of Newport Beach, will be held for 24 hours, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 20 at Newport Harbor High School, 600 Irvine Ave., Newport Beach.

Last year, the Newport Beach community raised $130,000.

A service for Smith will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. I for one will be wearing some red, white and blue in her honor. Condolences to the Smith family.

WORTH REPEATING

From the thought for the day, as provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council:

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”