Is the upcoming National Day of Prayer a day for all Americans — or just evangelicals?
That’s what some critics are charging in advance of the May 1 observances as they call for a more inclusive approach to an event they say has been “hijacked” by conservative Christians.
Jews on First, a 21/2-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.”
Jane Hunter, the co-director of Jews on First, said her group has interfaith volunteers in several states who are urging their governors to issue inclusive proclamations about the annual observance.
“The volunteers who organize the events … are required to pledge that they will only invite Christian clergy to officiate,” said Hunter, a longtime Jewish activist who lives in Bethesda, Maryland. “The volunteers themselves have to … make a statement of faith that is very narrowly drawn so that only a conservative evangelical Christian would be comfortable doing it.”
