Whiners Complain About Christian Participation in National Day of Prayer

By an act of Congress signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1952, the first Thursday of May is recognized as the National Day of Prayer. Americans of all faiths are encouraged to set this day aside to pray for the nation and its leaders. But as this year's observance approaches, the voices of discontent are crying out, claiming that one particular faith group, evangelical Christians, has "hijacked" the Day, leaving persons of other faiths excluded from what is supposed to be an expression of national unity.

Jews on First, a 2 1/2-year-old online organization, has questioned the application process for coordinators affiliated with the National Day of Prayer Task Force, which is headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.

While the task force is a private group, it nonetheless gets an unofficial government seal of approval with an annual proclamation by President Bush and prayer ceremonies held at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Jews on First is spearheading an "Inclusive National Day of Prayer" campaign that includes a Web site featuring talking points, sample letters to governors and a list of "alternative inclusive observances."

"The National Day of Prayer has been hijacked!" the group declares on its Web site. "What began as President Truman's declaration of a National Prayer Day for all Americans is now excluding and dividing us on religious lines."

Not surprisingly, the forces of "inclusiveness" have been joined by the usual suspects, such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and several mainline Protestant groups. But for all their histrionics about "division" and "hijacking," these whiners are the ones doing the dividing and hijacking. The web site of the National Day of Prayer Task Force makes that organization's mission, vision, and purpose quite clear.

Mission

The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.

Our Vision and Values

In accordance with Biblical truth, the National Day of Prayer Task Force seeks to:

Foster unity within the Christian Church

Protect America's Constitutional Freedoms to gather, worship, pray and speak freely.

Publicize and preserve America's Christian heritage

Encourage and emphasize prayer, regardless of current issues and positions

Respect all people, regardless of denomination or creed

Be wise stewards of God's resources and provision

Glorify the Lord in word and deed

Who We Are and What We Do

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose it is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America's leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.

Official Policy Statement on Participation of "Non-Judeo-Christian" groups in the National Day of Prayer:

The National Day of Prayer Task Force was a creation of the National Prayer Committee for the expressed purpose of organizing and promoting prayer observances conforming to a Judeo-Christian system of values. People with other theological and philosophical views are, of course, free to organize and participate in activities that are consistent with their own beliefs. This diversity is what Congress intended when it designated the Day of Prayer, not that every faith and creed would be homogenized, but that all who sought to pray for this nation would be encouraged to do so in any way deemed appropriate. It is that broad invitation to the American people that led, in our case, to the creation of the Task Force and the Judeo-Christian principles on which it is based.

The Task Force makes no secret of its Christian affiliation. It exists to encourage Christians to participate in the National Day of Prayer and provides them with resources for participating in ways appropriate to their faith. Moreover, it encourages persons of other faiths to find appropriate ways to participate, as well. It should go without saying that the Christians who make up the National Day of Prayer Task Force would welcome the formation of similar organizations to encourage the participation of persons of other faiths in ways appropriate to those faiths.

What is discouraging (not to mention divisive) is the fact that organizations like Jews on First and Americans United do not appear to be working toward finding appropriate ways for non-evangelicals and non-Christians to participate in the National Day of Prayer. Rather, they appear to be deriding and impugning the way in which members of the Christian community have chosen to come together to pray for their nation.