NDR Media Coverage

"Participation seems to have doubled from last year," said Bill Malone, co-coordinator of the local effort with his wife, Pam. The Malones run a Clearwater-based ministry.

"The response tells us that people are hurting and feel things are out of control," he said. "They're reaching out to someone who has control."

The national observance was established by Congress in 1952. Although all of the events are Christian-oriented, Malone emphasized that the day of prayer is for people of all faiths.

To counter the religious theme, humanists and nonbelievers will sponsor the National Day of Reason today - "to raise public awareness about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government intrusion into the private sphere of worship."

Copyright 2004 Media General, Inc.

This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of Humanist issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.