His Grace?

Yesterday was not only Cinco de Mayo but a scheduled National Day of Prayer (see my posts on the subject from last year). The theme this year was “God Shed His Grace On Thee” which no doubt was picked because it was the most inclusive phrase they could find. Considering that the event is almost entirely Christain-based in tone and intent many groups around the country are holding alternative multi-faith events that are actually inclusive.

“The Greater Asheville United Religions Initiative and the Coalition of Earth Religions held the second annual Multifaith National Day of Prayer celebration Thursday evening in Pritchard Park. Brief prayers were offered from a wide variety of faiths including Asatru, Baha?i, Buddhist, Cherokee, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan and others. ‘Some time in the future, we hope it would be possible (to have a single multifaith prayer event),’ said Byron Ballard, a Wiccan priestess and event organizer.” – Andre A. Rodriguez, The Asheville Citizen-Times

But hey, even if it is a “Christians-Only” club they will at least be welcoming of Christians who hold different points of view right?

“There has been some legislation that has legalized some immorality — pornography, divorce, abortion. There are some major issues on the table and they determine the heart of America. The question is will they align with the heart of God?” – Jim Wydman, vice chairman of the National Day of Prayer task force, Beliefnet.com

Oops. Guess not. I find that as in all things it is wise to read the disclaimer.

“The National Day of Prayer was created by an act of Congress and is, therefore, intended for all peoples of faith to pray to the God of their understanding. However, our expression of that involvement is specifically limited to the Judeo-Christian heritage and those who share that conviction as expressed in the Lausanne Convenant. If peoples of other faiths wish to celebrate in their own tradition, they are welcome to do so, but we must be true to those who have supported this effort and volunteered their time to promote it. National Day of Prayer is not a function of the government and, therefore, a particular expression of it can be defined by those who choose to organize it. This is not a church/state issue.”

In other words, Pagans (and Buddhists, Muslims, Unitarian-Universalists, Hindus, Taoists, etc) sod off we don’t want you.

Tags: Neopaganism