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For the past 7 years, I have helped organize a National Day of Prayer event for the non-Christians in Oklahoma who choose to participate.
We started it because a private group called the National Day of Prayer Task Force (NDPTF), run by the Dobson family, began to present itself as a government agency under Bush, Jr. They set about excluding everyone who wasn’t approved by their organization, even going so far as to over-ride and cancel events planned and scheduled by religions they apparently didn’t approve of. They weren’t targeting any specific group; it was a scatter-gun approach against any religion not theirs, including other Christian groups. I could go back and dig out press releases they issued that presented themselves as a government agency, and news reports of religions that were barred by the NDPTF from reserving public areas because they weren’t “approved”, but I’m not going to right now.
The NDPTF was very powerful for a few years. Former president Bush, Jr. held “interfaith” prayer sessions in the White House – interfaith in that he invited 1 Jewish and 2 Christian religious leaders to participate.( more wandering thoughts behind the cut )
We started it because a private group called the National Day of Prayer Task Force (NDPTF), run by the Dobson family, began to present itself as a government agency under Bush, Jr. They set about excluding everyone who wasn’t approved by their organization, even going so far as to over-ride and cancel events planned and scheduled by religions they apparently didn’t approve of. They weren’t targeting any specific group; it was a scatter-gun approach against any religion not theirs, including other Christian groups. I could go back and dig out press releases they issued that presented themselves as a government agency, and news reports of religions that were barred by the NDPTF from reserving public areas because they weren’t “approved”, but I’m not going to right now.
The NDPTF was very powerful for a few years. Former president Bush, Jr. held “interfaith” prayer sessions in the White House – interfaith in that he invited 1 Jewish and 2 Christian religious leaders to participate.( more wandering thoughts behind the cut )