Sioux Empire Today

South Dakotans who want to participate in the nationwide Unite Our Nation public procession and pray efforts that have attracted thousands will have two opportunities within the state in the run-up to the Nov. 3 general election.

Unite Our Nation events are scheduled in Alexandria and Flandreau on Nov. 1.

"This is an excellent event to bring Christ out into the streets and pray for unity in our nation," Lesle "Libby" Heinemann, the lead contact for the Unite Our Nation event in Flandreau told Sioux Empire Today. "Peace and reconciliation can only be found in Christ."

Flandreau-area Catholic Daughter Court Co-Chairs Pam Rorvik-Albers, left, and Lesle "Libby" Heinemann. Heinemann. The Catholic Daughter Court chapter is sponsoring the Unite Our Nation event in Flandreau on Nov. 1 | Contributed photo

The Alexandria and Flandreau events are scheduled for two days before the General Election, a day that Unite Our Nation has declared to be "Adoration for our Nation," a national day of prayer.

"Our event will be very similar to what is being held all around the nation," Heinemann said. "We will have a Eucharistic procession and patriotic rosary while we process down the street and around our courthouse."

It isn't only about South Dakota, Heinemann said.

"We will be praying for all 50 states as we pray the rosary," she said. "Our local Catholic Daughter Court will be sponsoring this event."

Both South Dakota events will come less than three months after the first Unite Our Nation event Aug. 15 in the riot-ravaged streets of downtown Madison, Wisconsin. The grassroots organizers then hoped a few hundred participants would show up.

About 3,000 swelled the ranks for the procession and public prayer event in Madison, between the graffiti-ridden, riot-damaged and boarded-up buildings. The crowd, including many with rosaries, prayed for the nation, invoking the names of all 50 states, and asked for blessings and healing for the nation.

"Your presence is a witness of Christian courage," Kevin O'Brien, one of the local organizers in Madison, told the crowd that day. "We need that right now more than ever. We need men and women to stand up for truth and goodness. Again, we have the fullness of the faith, we have the power, we don’t need to cower in fear. We can come together and we can unite to truly make a difference."

Other events have since followed across the nation, including a Unite Our Nation procession and prayer event in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Oct. 4 that attracted about 1,750 participants. Unite Our Nation events are scheduled in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Michigan through the end of this month.

As Unite Our Nation events spread, news came to Heinemann.

"I heard about this event on Catholic radio and it immediately piqued my interest because of all the disunity in our nation today," she said.

The Flandreau Unite Our Nation event is set to begin 11:30 a.m. with a Eucharistic procession and patriotic rosary walk from Saints Simon and Jude Parish 105 S. Bates St. in Flandreau, according to the event's information page. The procession and walk is expected to continue down Pipestone Avenue to the Moody County Courthouse, about eight blocks.

And adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the church is expected to follow the walk.

The Unite Our Nation event in Alexandria is scheduled later in the day, at 1 p.m., at St. Mary of Mercy Church, 220 Fifth St. A Eucharistic procession, rosary, adoration and a speaker are planned. The event in Alexandria is expected to last about 1 hour, 45 minutes.

“This is a family-friendly event open to all,” the Alexandria Unite Our Nation information page says. “Please join us!”

Other Nov. 1 Unite Our Nation events are scheduled in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Post-Election Day events currently are scheduled in Michigan and California, while more events are being added.

Anyone seeking more information about the Flandreau Unite Our Nation event can contact Heinemann at 605-864-1273 or lheinemann55@gmail.com

Anyone who would like more information about the Alexandria Unite Our Nation event can contact Natasha Springer at 605-216-7831 or simplydeigratia@hotmail.com