Clergy comes out for prayer breakfast
John Buchanan delivers a speech every Sunday, but this audience will be a little different.
When the pastor at Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church delivers a keynote address Thursday at Heritage YMCA Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, his flock will be made up of a large number of colleagues.
The annual breakfast draws 35 to 40 area clergy as well as dozens of others. However, the inclusion of all the extra men and women of the cloth in the audience doesn't make Buchanan any more nervous.
"I'm hoping to add a little bit of levity to all the things we do at this time of year, but also highlight the great themes that are so important as well," he said.
"Our common humanity, our hopes for peace and the need for all of us to reach out to one another in compassion and love are not only Christian themes, but universal."
The breakfast begins at 7 a.m. Thursday at the Fry Family YMCA building, 2120 W. 95th St., Naperville. For information about tickets, visit the group's Web site at heritageymca.org.
Mayor George Pradel hosts the event every year. Belgio's Catering provides breakfast, and musical performances are scheduled throughout the morning, YMCA officials said.
The annual breakfast began in 2005 and has been a big hit since its introduction. The event commonly sells out.
"It's a great honor to speak to one's peers, so I was delighted to be asked," Buchanan said.
"It's a good time to get together with people who doing the same things."
Besides Buchanan, one of the YMCA's younger members also will speak about the impact the organization has had on his life during hard times, said Dee Dee McDevitt, Heritage YMCA director of marketing and customer satisfaction.
The event is expected to end at 8:15 a.m., McDevitt said.
"It's a great breakfast and a lot of coffee," she added.
If you go
What: Heritage YMCA Mayor's Prayer Breakfast
When: 7 to 8:15 a.m. Thursday
Where: Fry Family YMCA building, 2120 W. 95th St., Naperville
Tickets: $15 each
Info: (630) 420-0960 or heritageymca.org