ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — Residents participated in the Cry Out America Central Baldwin event held Friday at the Robertsdale City Hall.

The initiative was born out of the events of Sept. 11, 2001 when a pair of planes hit and ultimately destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, a third plane struck the Pentagon and a fourth, thanks to the bravery of its passengers and crew, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania en route to the White House.

The initiative is a call for all Americans to unite in prayer and is held each year on the anniversary of the attacks.

“We need to make and effort shine our lights brighter,” said Vietnam veteran Anthony Pittman, who led the prayer for our military at Friday’s event. ”The brighter we can shine our lights, the better able we will be to keep darkness from entering in.”

Following an opening prayer by Robertsdale Mayor Charles Murphy and a brief introduction by Ron Moore, sub-coordinator for Central Baldwin County; the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance was led by the Rev. Harvey L. Earls, senior pastor of Bethel Baptist Church.

Moore led prayers for our nation and our state, followed by prayer for our county officials and the Baldwin County School System by the Rev. Melissa Aaron, pastor of the Robertsdale Church of the Nazarene, and prayers for the city and area first responders by the Rev. Allan Jones from Lifeway Community Church in Loxley.

According to its website, awakeningamerica.us, Americans have participated in Cry Out America events in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to the website, the events were a precursor to the America For Jesus 2012 gathering which drew nearly 25,000 participants to Independence Mall Sept. 28 and 29 in Philadelphia.

The program concluded with the singing of “God Bless America” and “The Lord’s Prayer.”