NDR Media Coverage

Ritter joins faithful in National Day of Prayer
by Jean Torkelson

Music, prayer and a governor on the state Capitol steps - it was a combination that thrilled organizers of Thursday's annual National Day of Prayer celebration.

"We should be prayerful in all things, and mindful of the importance of prayer for all men and women who serve abroad, and for their families that wait here for their return," Gov. Bill Ritter told several hundred Christians on the Capitol lawn.

"This is huge," said the Rev. Phil Eberhart, one of the organizers, about the impact of Ritter's presence. He's the first governor in the organizers' memory to attend the National Day of Prayer Capitol event, though Gov. Bill Owens was a frequent attendee at other prayer observances.

Ritter, a Democrat whose social agenda is often at odds with conservatives, met with organizers about six weeks ago and prayed with them, Eberhart said.

"It shows you can't trust stereotypes," state coordinator Willow Kauffman said Thursday.

More than 70 National Day of Prayer events were held in Colorado.

Some secularists complain that the observance is inappropriate and has been commandeered by right-wing evangelicals.

This week, the American Humanist Association called the National Day of Prayer "divisive" and a "political prop," and said that it wants to displace the day with a "National Day of Reason."

Eberhart said that critics are free to celebrate the day as they please.

"They have the same rights as we have to gather and express their (beliefs)," he said. "That's the First Amendment."

More than 20 speakers led the crowd in prayer for a long list of needs, including the military and young people - two groups seen as especially in harm's way.

Former Bronco Randy Gradishar prayed that the media and entertainment industries would be restored to moral goodness for the sake of young people.

"They deserve to experience a decent, Godly society," Gradishar said.

Chris Thibodeau, 40, an Air Force master sergeant, came with his family. The veteran of the first Persian Gulf War and the war in Bosnia said he was there, first, "to praise Jesus," and then to pray for "wisdom and guidance for the leaders of our country that they make the right decisions at the right time."

There were cheers as Ritter read the official proclamation, which stipulated that the National Day of Prayer - established 54 years ago by Congress, and set on the first Thursday of May by President Ronald Reagan - was a day for Americans to gather to celebrate the rights endowed by their Creator.

Celebration was the operative word to Rep. Debbie Stafford, R-Aurora, a perennial participant, who introduced a troop of supportive legislators - eight Republicans and five Democrats - who left the House floor to hear the gospel music and pray with the crowd.

"We were trying to keep our votes up to the beat of the music, and some of us wanted to dance in the aisles of the state Capitol," Stafford said.

Copyright 2007 Rocky Mountain News

Read the original story on the The Rocky Mountain News Web Site.

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