To ward off a moral and spiritual “crisis” in the U.S., a cross-section of Christian leaders is hosting a “mayday” prayer gathering May 1 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Organizers of May Day 2010 are calling on Christians to repent and seek God “for His mercy instead of the judgment our many sins deserve.” The 30-member host committee includes Focus on the Family founder James Dobson; prayer leaders Mike and Cindy Jacobs, and Chuck Pierce; and Reps. Trent Franks of Arizona and Louie Gohmert of Texas.
“Our nation faces what is perhaps the most serious moral crisis since the Civil War, as we’ve turned our backs on God and have clearly displeased Him,” Dobson said. “May Day 2010 is a time to come together and proclaim what God has done in the past, to pray for forgiveness and to plead for God’s mercy on all of us.”
Many of the leaders involved say the crisis worsened with the passage of the health care reform bill. “With the government takeovers so far, we are now a small step from a communist dictatorship,” wrote chief May Day 2010 coordinator Janet Porter, president of the advocacy group Faith2Action. “This event is not “˜business as usual.’ We’re going to gather for a solemn assembly that begins with repentance.”
May Day is inspired in part by a proclamation President Abraham Lincoln issued in 1863, calling the nation to a day of prayer and fasting. “In 1863, Abraham Lincoln lamented that America had “˜become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us,'” Franks said. “As our nation faces many grave challenges, I hope Americans will heed Lincoln’s challenge and come together in prayer at this important event.”
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