The Christian conservative group the
Family Research Council (FRC) is looking out for Texas Governor Rick
Perry's prayer event.
Perry's The Response USA, which
is scheduled to take place Saturday in Houston's Reliant
Stadium, is mired in controversy. The event raises questions about
whether a public official is violating the separation of church and
state by hosting a religious event and whether Perry endorses the
extreme views of some of the speakers scheduled to appear at the
event.
The governor says the day of prayer and
fasting is what a “nation in crisis” needs.
“As an elected leader, I'm all too
aware of government's limitations when it comes to fixing things that
are spiritual in nature. That's where prayer comes in, and we need
it more than ever,” Perry says in a video promoting the event.
“With the economy in trouble, communities in crisis and people
adrift in a sea of moral relativism, we need God's help.” (The
video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The Christian-only prayer event,
however, is in need of a bit of God's help itself. Only 8,000
tickets have been sold (Reliant Stadium holds 70,000) and Perry's
invitation to fellow governors has fallen mostly on deaf ears,
although Kansas Governor Sam Brownback remains a possible attendee.
“As Believers gather in Houston and
in churches across America to observe Solemn Assembly this Saturday
for 'The Response USA,' may we be joined in genuine humility. May we
rage against and loath our own sins, and take a stand against
unbelief in our own hearts. May we sympathize with believers and our
fellow countrymen in our common need for forgiveness and mercy. May
we repent for ourselves and for our nation, much as did Job when he
came to the end of himself, and repented in dust and ashes,” the
FRC, a co-sponsor of the event, noted.
The group also prayed for judges who
are hearing gay marriage cases: “Please pray for our judges,
especially on the U.S. Supreme Court, that they will rule aright when
they hears these cases. Pray for the lawyers who will argue our
position on natural marriage. May pastors and believers across
America awaken to what is happening and get engaged! May the Lord
intervene to stop these efforts to homosexualize our nation – and
to indoctrinate our children with evil! (Ex 23:1-2; Lev 9:15; Dt
1:16-17; 25:1; 1 Sam 8:6-7; Jn 7:24; Rom 1:32; 2 Tim 2:1-8; Jude 7)”
(Related: FRC
prays for Malawi's laws criminalizing gay sex.)