National Day of Prayer

Barack Obama George W Bush President Obama will sign prayer proclamation today.

by Associated Press

Published: Thu, May 07, 2009 - 4:30 am CST

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is marking today's National Day of Prayer -- but not publicly.

The president is signing a proclamation about the day in private. There'll be no public ceremony involving prominent
clerics, lawmakers or prayers, as there was when George W. Bush was in the White House.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says it's not that Obama thinks the observance was getting politicized, as some critics charge. Aides
say he's merely returning to the practice that prevailed before Bush took office -- of signing and issuing a proclamation.

Gibbs says Obama is well aware of the role prayer plays in the lives of Americans -- because he begins each day in private
worship.

A private group that promotes prayer events around the country says it's disappointed with what it says is a "lack of participation by the Obama administration." Shirley Dobson of the National Day of Prayer Task Force says it's a time in the nation's history when Obama should "recognize more fully the importance of prayer."

A group that challenges the Day of Prayer as a violation of the separation of church and state says it welcomes Obama's more
scaled- back observance. But the group says it's surprised that the Obama administration has so forcefully defended the observance
against a court challenge.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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preach Says:

Fri, May 08, 2009 at 6:45 am

“where there is two or three gathered in My name”

preach Says:

Fri, May 08, 2009 at 6:43 am

I am sure Obama does observe prayer, on his knees twice a day on his carpet facing east.

jlb1198 Says:

Thu, May 07, 2009 at 10:40 am

I think its a good thing, because it was just a show for most people, if you really have faith and you really believe in the power fo prayer why do you need to put on a show for the world. Prayer is about yourself and your thoughts within.

BamaBob Says:

Thu, May 07, 2009 at 7:48 am

I was hoping Rev. Wright would show up.

ickthus Says:

Thu, May 07, 2009 at 7:45 am

I am shocked. Shocked he didn’t do away with it altogether. I mean we are a non-Christian nation. We deserve the right to do want we want. He needs to do it for us right away, right now before we can see what he is doing for us. Because we deserve what ever he is doing, what ever it is, he will pray for us, however he prays, when he finds a church. We don’t have time to wait to see what that is, so he will just do it for us because we deserve it.