Crane attends prayer luncheon
<p>Idaho State Treasurer Ron Crane speaks at the State Leadership Prayer Luncheon on Saturday at the Best Western Coeur d'Alene Inn.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - When the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center fell on Sept. 11, 2001, Ron Crane said this was a country that needed help.
It found that guidance in God, he said.
"America needed a shoulder to cry on and the only shoulder big enough was God's," said the Idaho state treasurer.
Crane was a guest speaker at Saturday's State Leadership Prayer Luncheon at the Coeur d'Alene Best Western Inn. About 100 people attended the event, where the goal was to pray for the leadership of the state and local community and the nation.
"And to encourage people everywhere to make a difference in the lives of others," according to a press release.
Crane said "our values are under assault and that our mission is to reach out to others to carry the mission of Christ."
Keynote speaker Mark Moder, the executive director of Youth Dynamics, an adventure-based ministry that utilizes activities like rock climbing, kayaking and white water rafting, said anyone can make a difference by giving only one hour per week to a teenager.
"Today's youth are greatly influenced by much more than what adults grew up with in the past. They seek adult leadership to help them know what paths are right to follow," the release said.
Speaker Terry Harwood, executive director of the Coeur d'Alene Basin Commission, said that he was working in Washington, D.C., with the hazardous materials policy council at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks and was scheduled to attend a meeting at the Pentagon.
However, he had to send a deputy and a few other staff in his place when another meeting came up, so he missed being in the Pentagon when the terrorist plane crashed into the building. He described the chaos and how difficult it was for everyone working within the city to get out. When he was able to return three days later, the Pentagon building was still burning.
Harwood, who spent more than 40 years in public service, said he believes "it's important to do your best in everything using the gifts and abilities that God gave you and to do it for the Lord."
DVDs of the event will be available for $10 each plus $2.50 for postage.
Information: Jeri DeLange, 699-6494