Yesterday, President George W. Bush spoke at the 54th National Prayer Breakfast at the Hilton Washington Hotel. (Full text of remarks.) The keynoter, however, was U2 lead singer Bono, who founded the humanitarian organization DATA which focuses on battling the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Christianity Today reports on the major speakers at the event.
As reported in AP stories (here and here), this year's event was more ecumenical than the Prayer Breakfasts of past years. The breakfast, which usually draws over 3500 attendees, is privately funded and is sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation, an evangelical Christian group. Presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush have attended, as have members of Congress and world leaders. In past years, the event has had a decidedly Christian tone. This year, however, the Breakfast was co-chaired for the first time by a Jew, Sen. Norm Coleman who, along with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, offered Hebrew prayers. The Breakfast also featured as a speaker a prominent Muslim, King Abdullah II of Jordan. Nathan J. Diament, director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America praised the new inclusiveness of the Breakfast.
