ENGELHARD — A group of Hyde County residents are striving to bring unity to their community.

The Davis Youth Center and Hyde County NAACP are partnering to host a community prayer breakfast on Sept. 17, with one idea in mind: “A community that prays together, stays together.”

Alice Mackey, one of the organizers, said the event came to fruition thanks to Thomas Midgette, who then enlisted her help to organize it.

While prayer events are not necessarily a new concept, Mackey said the difference lies in the countywide partnerships, rather than it being reserved to one church.

“It has been done. It’s been years back,” she said. “Lately, this is the first time something like this has been done.”

At the prayer breakfast, ministers have been assigned to lead prayer for different facets of Hyde County: one for the government, one for the prison system, another for the schools and yet another for first responders, according to Mackey.

Organizers want residents to know that compassion for one another spans across all areas, and to achieve that, anyone who wants to come is invited, Mackey said.

“Maybe this will be something that will be going on from time to time and get more people involved,” she said. “We can cover compassion all over the county.”

Mackey said she is working on reaching out to Hyde County’s Hispanic community, as well, to invite them to come. In upcoming years, she hopes it can spread to include other counties.

So far, residents seem to be receptive to the idea, she said.

“I’m hoping that people will know that there’s compassion for everyone. … It’s not just about one group of people,” Mackey said. “It’s not just one area, but we want to be considerate and pray for every (area).”

The community prayer breakfast is scheduled for Sept. 17 at 8 a.m. at the Davis Youth Center, 33478 U.S. Highway 264, Engelhard. The youth center will be providing breakfast for guests. Tickets are $7.