Mayor requests prayer for family, compassion and courage
Hudson Mayor Dean Knudson wasn’t at a loss for words when the Rev. Larry Szyman asked him how the participants in a National Day of Prayer breakfast could pray for him.By: Randy Hanson, Hudson Star-Observer
Hudson Mayor Dean Knudson wasn’t at a loss for words when the Rev. Larry Szyman asked him how the participants in a National Day of Prayer breakfast could pray for him.
Knudson’s first request tugged at his emotions and came out haltingly, however.
He asked for a shield of protection around his family.
“I chose it, but the family kind of gets drafted into it,” he said of his decision to go into public service.
His wife, Joy, could do without the attention that comes from having a husband in public office, he indicated. But she supported his decision to seek the mayor’s office because he felt called to it.
Knudson and his wife are both veterinarians by profession. He said they are working part time in the field now.
The Knudsons’ daughter, Sonya, is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their son, Reed, is a sophomore at Hudson High School.
Knudson said it was a humbling experience to stand before a prayer breakfast audience and request God’s help.
“When you are in the public eye, you have to work at humility,” he added. “Power can be intoxicating.”
He said he had been reading from the Gospel of Mark and the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
He requested prayer for compassion, a gentle approach, wisdom and courage.
“It takes courage to stand up, sometimes, for what is right,” he said.
He said he wanted to be “affirming, praising, encouraging” to all the people who work behind the scenes to make Hudson a good place to live.
“I have a long list … and I believe in the power of prayer,” he continued, sounding mildly apologetic about the number of his requests.
He closed by reporting that he and Joy and the children would be traveling to India in June on a two-week mission trip, along with members of their church, Trinity Lutheran.
He asked for prayer for the pastors of some 160 new Lutheran churches in India.
The Rev. Mark Neumann, lead pastor at Trinity Lutheran, led the prayer on Knudson’s behalf.
The prayer was preceded by Szyman’s interview of Knudson as a way of introducing him to the breakfast audience.
Tags: community, knudson, hudson, prayerbreakfast
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