Oregon Prayer Spotlight: Lafayette
 |
| Lafayette Historical Museum |
They may curse, but you will bless: when they attack they will be put to shame, but your servant will rejoice. Psalm 109:28
Lafayette, Oregon is a pretty little town along the Yamhill River on Oregon Route 99, about 35 miles southwest of Portland, 25 miles north of Salem. It is the third oldest town in the Willamette Valley, established in 1846 and incorporated in 1878. It is in Yamhill County and was originally the county seat until 1889 when the citizens voted to make McMinnville the seat. The population is currently around 4,000.
The town has a number of old homes and historic buildings, a few even on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lafayette Locks Park is at the site of a former dam and locks that were decommissioned in the 1950’s. Other points of interest include a log house museum and the Lafayette Pioneer Cemetery which was established in 1873.
The old cemetery has a lot of atmosphere and is associated with the legend of a curse over the town. Some stories have it that the ghost of a woman, a witch, is occasionally seen haunting the graveyard, and that it was she who cursed the town when she was hung for witchcraft. Online accounts can be pretty wild. Actually, the last person accused of witchcraft and hung in America appears to have been on the east coast about 1697 - colonial times. I don’t believe witchcraft was ever a crime in Oregon, much less a capital offense.
But there was a real hanging. The actual story appears to be that a man, Richard Marple, was hung in Lafayette in 1861 for the brutal murder of a shop owner. When he was executed, his mother, Anna Marple, cursed the town, saying it would burn down three times. There is no way of knowing if she was a practitioner of witchcraft of any sort. She just sounds pretty unbalanced. Sad story. There have been some fires over the years in Lafayette. Coincidence or curse?
Anna Marple, witch or not, probably did say some dark words over the town that day. Did she release something in the spiritual realm?
 |
| Lafayette Evangelical Church |
A few years ago I was praying over a situation in my church. I had been a member long enough I had seen “fussing” that seemed to occur on a regular cycle. During one such miserable period I was at our local library during a book sale. An old paperback book on the “free” table caught my attention - a Christian book on breaking curses, including curses placed on a church by (real) witches or others bent on evil. Fascinating read! Was it valid? As I pondered these things in my heart, and how it might relate to our situation, I recalled an interview I had done with an elderly member while writing a short book on the history of the church. One of the early pastors, she said, was pretty hard on them. He was constantly telling them he was going to “write Ichabod across the doorpost of the church,” if they didn’t shape up.
‘Ichabod,’ means “the glory has departed,” or “Godforsaken,” and comes from
I Samuel 4:21 and the story of the high priest’s daughter-in-law who named her newborn Ichabod under sad circumstances – the Ark of the Covenant had been lost in battle. I am not sure where the idea of writing “Ichabod” across the door originated, but it obviously does not bode well for that congregation.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
Words are powerful things. I believe words can carry spiritual power. This is why we often pray God’s Word back to Him. And I do believe some words can carry power for evil. Spiritually, emotionally, psychologically…words have power.
I shared my little historical discovery with our pastor. He had the congregation pray over the history of the church, forgiving the misguided pastor, and breaking and renouncing any effects of his words.
I wish I could say our church just blossomed after that, but…nothing happened. As I was writing this, I realized that was it: nothing happened – no drama or strife for some time now. Oh.
How do we pray for Lafayette? Sometimes a curse is brought by injustice for which we need to repent, but the man who was executed appears to have been guilty of that murder and a couple of others. We do need to decree that evil spirits released by such words are bound and their assignments broken. Bind them and loose angelic forces to bring blessings instead.
Pray for the town leadership. There is a mayor and six-member council. This year the mayor and three council positions are up for election. The councilors serve four-year terms; the mayor a two-year term. The current mayor is Marie Sproul.
Lafayette: In Jesus Name, we decree that “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
Margaret
Comments
Post a Comment