Congressmen Call America to Prayer

The 35-member Congressional Prayer Caucus at a press conference on Wednesday launched an initiative to encourage every American to spend five minutes a week praying for the nation. Today's Detroit Free Press reports on the effort. The group has created a "Wall of Prayer Around America" page on the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation website. Using a graphic of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, it seeks individuals to sign up for specific times to pray so that all times are covered. Reacting to the effort, Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said: "Lawmakers should stick to their constitutional duties and leave religious decisions to individuals.... Religion is too important to become a political football." Additional coverage of the story is on Blog from the Capitol and Melissa Rogers websites.