For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes


Sunday, 05 Jun 2011 07:26 PM



SAN ANTONIO- Saying "there is hope for America, and we will find it on our knees," Texas Governor Rick Perry invited other American governors to join him in a "solemn gathering of prayer and fasting" in August.

Perry, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination to challenge President Barack Obama next year, has frequently made calls for prayer while governor.

The Aug. 6 event, called "The Response, a Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis," is "a non-denominational, apolitical Christian prayer meeting," its website says.

The site says Perry invited all U.S. governors "as well as many other national and Christian political leaders."

"Right now, America is in crisis," Perry says in a message on the site. "We have been besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters. As a nation, we must come together, and call upon Jesus to guide us."

Perry's spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

Eric Bearse, a spokesman for the event, said Sunday the Mississippi-based American Family Association, a conservative Christian activist group, is paying for the event, and admission will be free.

In April, when Texas was in the middle of wildfires that burned nearly 3 million acres, Perry issued an official proclamation calling for three "pray for rain days."

Last week, he urged a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling that prohibited graduating seniors at a Texas high school to pray during their commencement address.

© 2011 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-people/rick-perry/perry-releases-proclamation-on-prayer-and-fasting/

For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes
Perry Releases Proclamation on Prayer and Fasting
by Jay Root 6/6/2011



photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Gov. Rick Perry on May 30th, 2011


Gov. Rick Perry, who’s eying a possible run for the White House, released a proclamation Monday declaring Aug. 6 a “Day of Prayer and Fasting for our Nation’s Challenges.”

It was already widely reported that Perry had invited all the nation’s governors and several religious leaders to the prayer event to be held at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Perry officially announced it Monday with a press release about his gubernatorial decree, though the proclamation was issued May 23.

The event already has its own slick website and invites people who register to promise to fast for one day a week leading up to the event. Registered guests can also agree to dedicate some “focused time of consecration in prayer and fasting” during the entire week leading up to the social conservative extravaganza.

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the governor, known to be fond of Texas barbecue, would be fasting on the day of the event.

In a news release posted on his website Monday, Perry recalled moments in U.S. history when leaders called on Americans to pray (and temporarily stop eating) for the good of the nation, including former Presidents John Adams and Abraham Lincoln.

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"Given the trials that have beset our country and world — from the global economic downturn to natural disasters, the lingering danger of terrorism and wars that endanger our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and theaters of conflict around the globe, and the decline of our culture in the context of the demise of families — it seems imperative that the people of our nation should once again join together for a solemn day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation," Perry wrote.

Perry is calling the event an “apolitical Christian prayer meeting.” But it's already fueling lots of political speculation about his possible run for the White House.

The nation's longest-serving governor will be giving speeches in at least four states between now and June 18.

Perry's former speechwriter, Austin-based consultant Eric Bearse, is handling the significant and growing media attention for the event. Asked if Jews, Muslims or other non-Christian worshipers would be invited to attend, Bearse noted the event was free to registered guests regardless of faith.

"It was [Perry's] inclination for the event in Houston to host a Christian prayer service. It was with malice toward none," Bearse said. "It's a Christian service."

Bearse said there would be choirs and singing involved, and the cost of the event, including rental of the giant stadium, was being picked up by the American Family Association, a conservative Christian advocacy organization. He said the planning for the event began in December. It bears noting that Perry didn't start opening the door to a White House run until late last month.

Bearse said both prayer and self-denial of food were, combined, a "common spiritual tradition as people submit themselves to the will of God."