The 20th annual Greater Pittsburgh Community Leaders Prayer Breakfast took place Friday, March 17, and spanned from 7:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Hosted by the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, the event served as a spiritual gathering for those who live in the Pittsburgh region to enjoy before beginning their work day.

Because 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the event, planning staff opted to crank things up a notch. This year’s event took on a new venue, said Lisa Slayton, CEO of the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation.

“We took a risk,” Slayton said. “The event had always been held at the Sheraton in Station Square, but we knew the 20th anniversary would be an opportunity to boost the event to the next level – so we switched to the Convention Center.”

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center, located in downtown Pittsburgh, opened its doors bright and early Friday morning to welcome over 900 people to the event that previously only accommodated around 500.

Among the long list of attendees were some of Waynesburg’s very own. President Doug Lee and his wife were in attendance, as well as Heidi Szuminsky, vice president for Institutional Advancement and University Relations, a few other university officials and an assembly of public relations students who served as volunteers.

The volunteers were uniformed in official Waynesburg University scarves and ties and tasked with greeting, welcoming and assisting the diverse group of community leaders as they arrived at the venue.

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Leaders Prayer Breakfast is an annual event that was started by men and women who were cognizant of the need for God’s interventions and blessings and wanted to reach out to Him on behalf of the city of Pittsburgh.

“The event was founded 20 years ago to gather community leaders from around the region to seek God’s blessing,” said Slayton. “It is intended to be a very inviting and welcoming event.”

To participate in the event, an individual must purchase a table that seats ten people for $400. He or she will then distribute their table assignment vouchers to individuals whom they would like to have at their table.

“Usually who attends is someone within an organization who is a Christian and wants to involve their organization in this very important day for our city,” Szuminsky said.

Guests from organizations like Huntington Bank, Metro Urban Institute, the Pittsburgh Project, Sisters of St. Joseph, and Waynesburg University gathered among 91 tables to partake in the morning’s festivities. The programming included three speakers who shared their thoughts on how they pray for the city of Pittsburgh, a prayer for government officials, a reading from both the Old and New Testament, a hot breakfast, a reading of the Lord’s Prayer, a selection by local Christian musicians and more.

Each table had a designated prayer card in the center of it. Near the end of the event, attendees were asked to participate in “table prayer” by praying for whatever or whomever was listed on their card. The lights were dimmed and the room quickly filled with a low rumble of voices as over 900 people prayed for the city of Pittsburgh.

The purpose of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Leaders Prayer Breakfast is for everyone to come together and pray for our city, said Szuminsky.

“Given that our university is nestled in the Greater Pittsburgh region and given our commitment to Christian higher education, it’s an event that makes a lot of sense for us to be a part of,” Szuminsky said.

Waynesburg University has been participating in this annual event for about five years now and plans to continue to help in the future.