THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER
NATIONAL PRAYER SERVICE
September 14, 2001
Faith in Christ - or Interfaith, in "isms"?
The National Prayer Service of The National Day of Prayer, proclaimed by President George W. Bush as September 14, 2001, was held at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. It commenced with Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon (Bishop of Washington, pro tempore) presiding. She opened the service by welcoming the President of the United States and government leaders to the National Cathedral, which she described as "a house of prayer for people of all faiths, according to our National Cathedral Charter -- Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Christians." In doing so, Rev. Dixon rewrote America's history by misquoting the National Cathedral's Charter. The original Charter reads as follows:
First. It shall be a House of Prayer for all people, forever free and open, welcoming all who enter its doors to hear the glad tidings of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. It shall stand in the Capital of our country as a witness for Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever, and for the faith once for all delivered to the saints; and for the ministration of Christ's Holy Word and sacraments, which according to His own ordinance is to continue always to the end of the world.
Second. It shall be the Bishop's church in which his Cathedra is placed.
And thirdly, the fourfold work of the Cathedral is outlined in order of importance: Worship, Missions, Education and Charity.
In 1893, Congress granted a Charter to the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation of the District of Columbia for the construction of the National Cathedral. In the Preamble to its Constitution, the above-cited threefold purpose for the creation of a Cathedral church in the diocese of Washington was given.
Among those speaking from the pulpit during this National Prayer Service (on the 187th anniversary of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner poem by Francis Scott Key), were 1) the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington; 2) a leader of the Muslim religion; 3) Nathan Baxter, Dean of the National Cathedral, and finally, Rev. Billy Graham. Dean Nathan Baxter prefaced his sermon with, "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the god of Mohammed and the God of Jesus Christ." The god of Mohammed, founder of the Muslim religion, however, is Allah, who is not the God of the Bible, Almighty God, the One True God, whose Son is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the latter being extolled by the National Cathedral's Charter, as well as within and without her gothic walls.
Jehovah and Elohim are God's names in the Old Testament (English Translation). Allah was one of numerous false gods worshiped by the Arabs, when Mohammed forced them to worship one of the many, whose name is Allah.
In the Muslim religion, Allah has no son. Their "Holy War" is against Christianity. How amazing that, for the first time in America's history, the National Cathedral has violated its Charter at a National Day of Prayer Service attended by the President of the United States and proclaimed by him as such.
I was further surprised to find that, at the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, the National Anthem, the God of the Bible and of our forefathers was not glorified as Author and Protector of America's remarkable liberties and freedoms, being omitted from the Anthem as follows:
...Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our Trust." And the Star-Spangled Banner in Triumph shall wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
How can American Christians hope to have Almighty God's blessings and continued protective care, in order to win this battle, if their leadership glorifies false gods at a National Day of Prayer Service at America's National Episcopal Protestant Cathedral - George Washington's own denomination? George Washington, the nation's first President, was never ashamed of his Redeemer.
Catherine Millard
PRAYER
AT THE DEDICATION OF THE
WASHINGTON MONUMENT
by Rev. Henderson Suter, Rector of Christ Church*
Alexandria, VA.
February 21, 1885
Almighty God, Ruler of nations and of men, by whose providence our fathers were led to this godly land and by whom they were guided and sustained in their efforts to secure their liberties, accept, this day, the grateful homage of us, the inheritors of their well-earned rights. Them and their leaders Thou didst choose. With courage and patriotism Thou didst inspire all; but, we today, while unmindful of none, are specially called to acknowledge as Thy gift, George Washington. In honor of him, Thy servant, the nation of Thy planting and of his thought and prayers, has built this monument, and we, today, in that nation's behalf, speak to his God and ours, in prayer and thanks. We would remember Washington's high character, and all the virtues which, in him, built up the man. A leader fearing God; a patriot unstained by self; a statesman wishing only the right, he has left us an example for whose following, we supplicate thy help, for ourselves and for all who are now, and shall hereafter be, the instruments of Thy providence to this land and nation. .And so, all those blessings which he coveted for his people and his kind, be the heritage of us and of our children, forever. Our Fathers, "cried unto Thee and were delivered." "They trusted in Thee and were not confounded" and we, their children, gathered by this monument, today, the silent reminder of Thy gifts, ask Thy blessing, O Ruler of nations and men, in the name of Him through whom Thou hast taught us to pray, and, may no private or public sins cause Thee to hide thy face from us; but from them, turn Thou us, and in our repentance, forgive. To our prayers, we add our thanks for mercies many and manifold. Thou didst not set Thy love upon us, and choose us because we were more in number than any people, but because Thou wouldst raise us up to be an asylum for the oppressed, and for a light to those in darkness living. For this great honor, O God, we thank Thee. Not for our righteousness hast Thou upheld us hitherto, and saved from those evils which wreck the nations; but, because Thou hadst a favor unto us. For this great mercy, O God, we thank Thee. And for the generations to come, yet unborn, may this monument which we dedicate, today, to the memory of George Washington, stand as a witness for those virtues and that patriotism, which lived, shall secure for them Liberty and Union forever. Amen.1
1 excerpted from, The Christian Heritage of our Nation History Curriculum- Ten National Memorials, ©1998 by Catherine Millard.
* George and Martha Washington's church.
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