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    • Election Day prayers are held at the Palm Beach church where Trump got married
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    Election Day prayers are held at the Palm Beach church where Trump got married

    Harry Posted on

    (This story has been updated to add new information.)

    Historic Palm Beach church Former President Donald Trump married Melania Trump He offered parishioners a reprieve from the Election Day buzz with three prayer services.

    Election Day prayers at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 141 S. County Road, are held at 8:30 a.m., 12:05 a.m. and 5 p.m., the church said.

    “The church and gardens have always been open for prayer and meditation on Election Day,” said the Rev. Tim Schenck, the church’s rector. “And that will be the case this year, too. Anyone looking for a spiritual oasis in the midst of an anxious moment can sit and pray in the church, walk through the gardens, or gaze at our koi pond.”

    This is Schenck’s first term at the helm of Bethesda-by-the-Sea during a presidential election since taking over as rector in 2022. Schenck said he wasn’t sure if prayer services had been offered on past presidential election days, but he couldn’t imagine not offering them this year.

    Each service lasted about 15 minutes and included informal prayers without a sermon from Schenck.

    Schenck said the prayers are rooted in the reading of sacred texts, prayers and silence, and those who participate will pray for the country, guidance and elected representatives.

    “As the Scriptures say, we rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep,” he told the Daily News after the noon service.

    As a church serving a politically diverse congregation, Bethesda-by-the-Sea is “non-partisan but gospel-centered,” Schenck said.

    “In other words, while we may not endorse candidates, we do preach the gospel of love, grace and inclusion,” he said. “This means that we love our neighbors as ourselves. This means that we respect the dignity of every human being. This means that we do not dehumanize or demonize the other side. It means that everyone we encounter – no matter who they are, what they look like, what they believe, who they love, or where they come from not; he is, above all, a child of God.”

    “This means we are fulfilling Jesus’ command to ‘love one another as I have loved you,’” Schenck added. “That’s what’s going to happen with any service in Bethesda-by-the-Sea.”

    Coming together to pray is what the church does in times of hope and despair, he said.

    “And I think it’s especially important to give people a space to unplug from the cable news box, to remember that we are all Americans, to open our campus to the community, and to be reminded that what unites us will always be stronger than what divides us,” Schenck said. “Bethesda-by-the-Sea has long stood as a beacon of hope in this community and beyond. And right now we’re trying to embody that in a tangible, inviting way.”

    Oldest church in Palm Beach

    Bethesda-by-the-Sea’s first Church was built in 1889 on the shores of Lake Worth on what is now the Intracoastal Waterway. A second building was built just north of the first. Consecrated in 1896, the building housed Bethesda’s congregation until 1925.

    Construction of the current Gothic Revival-style church began that year, and the first services there were held on Christmas Day 1926.

    This year marks the 135th anniversary of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, making Bethesda the oldest religious congregation in Palm Beach and the oldest Protestant church in the area.

    Read more about the history of Bethesda-by-the-Sea.

    Trump family history with Bethesda-by-the-Sea

    The church has long attracted the attention of the wealthy, wealthy and prominent people. The beauty of the church has also made it a frequent destination for photographers, weddings and tourists.

    It has since become Donald and Melania Trump’s favorite church. Their wedding there in 2005. Their son Barron was baptized the following year at Bethesda-by-the-Sea. The couple, occasionally joined by other family members, attended Christmas Eve and Easter services there, including during Trump’s tenure at the White House from 2017 to 2021.

    When Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie Abe, visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017, Melania Trump took Ms. Abe to Bethesda by the Sea. “I am proud to share some of my family history with Ms. Abe at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Church, where @POTUS and I were married, celebrated, and prayed,” the then-First Lady said. The @FLOTUS Instagram account is accompanied by a photo of the church garden.

    More recently, Funeral of Amalija KnavsMelania Trump’s mother was held there in January.

    Another famous couple married in Bethesda-by-the-Sea in 2013, when basketball star Michael Jordan married Yvette Prieto in a ceremony attended by guests including Tiger Woods, Spike Lee and Patrick Ewing.

    The church hosts a number of popular events and fundraisers each year; Boar’s Head and Christmas Log Festival, held every January.

    Information from the Palm Beach Daily News archives contributed to this report.

    Kristina Webb is a reporter for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at: [email protected]. Subscribe today To support our journalism.

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