PORT EWEN — As acts of faith and trust in God’s ultimate sovereignty, Scripture exhorts us to pray for our leaders, even when we disagree with them, as noted in Jeremiah 29:7 and 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

“Recalling our Holy Hour for the Nation on the night before Election Day 2024, our parish invites everyone of good will, families, and individuals to another Holy Hour for the Nation at 6:30 p.m. on January 19 at Presentation Church, 209 Hoyt St., Port Ewen,” said Father Arthur F. Rojas, pastor of Presentation-Sacred Heart parish in Port Ewen-Esopus.

The evening of January 19 is the vigil before Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., for the president, vice president, and by extension, other officers of the executive branch of the federal government. “However, we will also pray for our U.S. representatives, senators, federal judges, and state and local officials who are starting their terms or have been returned to public office,” Rojas said.

Presentation-Sacred Heart Parish serves the town of Esopus via Presentation Church in Port Ewen and Sacred Heart Church in Esopus. The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Hudson is located on the grounds of Presentation Church in Port Ewen.