Letter to the editor of the Nevada Appeal
To whom it may concern:
I was highly disappointed to read staff reporter Rhonda Costa-Landers’ article on The National Day of Prayer. The article, I feel is not only exclusionary but also misleading in its lack of research on the presentation of The National Day of Prayer.
The first issue that I have with the article to be addressed is the following: ‘National Day of Prayer has become a day for Christians to organize and gather to pray’-Rhonda Costa-Landers 57th annual National Day of Prayer is Thursday.
The National Day of prayer is for all people of all faiths to organize and pray or to pray in private. There is no government mandate that allows for the day to be one only attributed to Christians.
To publish that it has become a day for Christians is both highly erroneous and divisive in a community that consists of residents from various faiths. Here in Carson City there are people who are Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Gnostic, Unitarian and Pagan.
I would also like to point out the requirements made by the select Christian groups who have over taken this day. The National Day of Prayer Task Force does not have as it states the “official” website for the National Day of Prayer. There is no government mandated “official” website or group that represents the National Day of Prayer. The task force was born out of the National Prayer Committee that was a private group that helped to influence the legislation that President Ronald Reagan signed in regards to The National Day of Prayer back in 1988. The task force is also housed in the Focus on the Family headquarters and ran by the wife of the president for the Focus on the Family organization.
All three of the above organizations are privately funded evangelical Christian groups whose main goal is to change the laws that format the religious freedoms for all citizens in this country. The National Prayer Committee, the head of the group was formed in 1979 from a subcommittee of the International Congress on World Evangelization.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force’s mission states that part of their goal is in ‘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.’ They ask that to be apart of any of their events that you sign a belief statement; a statement in which excludes many other denominations of Christianity that do not align with the Evangelical view point.
Another point to be made here is that there is no government sponsored theme for The National Day of Prayer. Neither the President nor Congress develops a theme to be followed for this day. The theme was chosen by the task force and they make no distinction as to the difference of where the theme comes from for they imply that it is a government sanctioned theme. It is also interesting to note that President Bush, who is an Evangelical Christian, adopted this theme in his proclamation dated for April 22nd 2008 while our own governor adopted the theme in his proclamation dated for February 8th 2008 before President Bush even endorsed it.
There are a few more points I would like to make that have seemed to have been over looked by the local media regarding May 1st.
May 1st is also celebrated for being May Day, International Workers Day, Beltane and Walpurgis. These celebrations have occurred every year in various parts of the world but this year have news wise taken a back seat to The National Day of Prayer.
Another celebration of mention is that President Bush on April 30th 2003 declared that May 1st of every year will be recognized as Loyalty Day. President Bush stated: I call upon all the people of the United States to join in support of this national observance. I also call upon government officials to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on Loyalty Day.
So not only have the other May 1st celebrations been ignored due to the media attention over The National Day of Prayer but our own President and Congress has overlooked their own declaration for our country to come together and celebrate in lieu of letting The National Day of Prayer Task Force over take this day.
I am not against having a National Day of Prayer, as long as it is promoted and endorsed as it was originally intended and that was to be a day of prayer for all people of all faiths. What I am against is both the local and national media outlets perpetuating misinformation to the exclusion of many of our country’s citizens. On this day we have a unique opportunity to show more openness for interfaith gatherings and we are letting that opportunity pass us by. I do hope that next year more people will gather from all faiths to share their beliefs and help to make the day a more cohesive one for all Americans and not just a vocally select few.
Thank you,
Laura Jean Karr
www.simpleabnormality.com
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[...] April and beginning of May I wrote about this same subject here and even a letter to my local paper(which can be read here). The Nevada Appeal had reprinted the National Day of Prayer Task Force false information and [...]