About 300 people gathered on the steps of City Hall to celebrate the 30th annual National Day of Prayer. Priests, rabbis, students, and church and temple-goers congregated to pray for our city, our state, and the United States of America.
Each year the president writes a National Proclamation to encourage patrons to pray on this day, and the governors of all 50 states write a State Proclamation. Mayor Ivy Taylor observed the day by reading the City Proclamation.
The National Day of Prayer is held on the first Thursday of May for people of all faiths to pray for the nation. The day was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of Congress, and in 1988, the May date was set by President Reagan.
Cornerstone Church Pastor John Hagee spoke on the steps of City Hall.
“Why pray? Because God answers prayer,” he said. “As powerful as God is, he cannot answer prayer until you pray to him. The Bible says you have not because you ask not. And that is what we are doing here. We are asking God to intervene in our city and our state.”
Hagee said America needs a spiritual awakening and a spiritual rebirth.
An all-city choir and student delegations from 10 local schools attended the prayer rally on Thursday.
San Antonio resident and City Council gadfly Jack M. Finger attended the mass prayer gathering.
“I see too many things happening with our local government, the city council, and the laws and ordinances that tend to persecute Christians as time goes by,” he said. “We are here to pray to the Lord that these things do not happen and to alert our fellow Christians to be on guard against these things as they come.”
Finger waved a sign in protest of gay marriage.
*Featured/top image: People worshipped at City Hall during the National Day of Prayer on Thursday. Photo by Scott Ball.
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meh
lol
Hagee is a crook…
I’m still trying to stop laughing/crying that Hagee leads National Prayer Day.
An obese bigot leads a prayer day? Gotta love the irony.
” AMEN AMEN AMEN “
Superstitious nonsense. Hagee makes a damn good living, and then some, convincing the flock to line up for shearing.
Those Israeli flags had nothing to with us. Wasn’t a Jewish thing at all. For the record.
So you think Jews don’t pray? And you think National Day of Prayer is just for Christians? Folks like you give Christians a bad name. And you wonder why so many people find you — as a Christian — annoying while having no problem with Christianity itself as it was designed. Practice what the Bible preaches, sir, not what keeps you in your comfort zone!
I pray for our leaders regardless blue or red
Christian Taliban in da house. 😀
Why would the article mention Jack Finger’s sign and not show it in his picture? Afraid of offending the libs around here?
No need to show Finger’s sign and hateful face. We libs know what bigotry looks and sounds like. Believe me, we do.
Then why mention the sign in the article? It is incredibly stupid to report on something and not show it. I guess you are for selective freedom of the press.
The press also reports on hideous crimes, car wrecks, rapes, etc. and does not provide photos of that. Why is it so important to you that a sign proclaiming bigotry must be seen? I think everyone understands what it is trying to get across. What are you trying to get across?
If the hateful comments posted here were about any other group (Muslims, homosexuals, any racial minority, immigrants, Bruce Jenner) they’d be considered despicable and blasted. Christians are the only group subject to open attack and slander without recourse. This country has turned its back on God, and we wonder how He “lets bad things happen” to us as a nation.
But homosexuals, racial minorities, Muslims (except the extremely few radicalized ones) and Bruce Jenner are not hellbent on preventing you from having the same civil rights as everyone else. You can pray and celebrate all your holidays and say “God bless you” whenever someone sneezes, but don’t take any tax money for such, have your church pay taxes on its profit, don’t give political endorsements from the pulpit, and keep your religion out of public schools. All that is guaranteed by the Constitution. And please tell us how two men or two women getting married is going to interfere with heterosexual marriage (1.2 million heterosexual divorces in US…gee, that ol’ marriage thing really works, don’t it?).
None of the groups you listed as having carte blanch to blast Christians get ANY recourse from the attacks on them. Gay men and racial minorities are routinely murdered just for being who they are. The days of throwing Christians to the lions are long gone.
Besides, it’s not CHRISTIANITY itself that annoys so many of us. It’s how many CHRISTIANS fool themselves into thinking they are practicing what the Bible attempts to teach. Remember, Mitt Romeny, Mr. Religion Numero Uno, was quite gleeful about cutting assistance to poor people. Is that what Jesus would do?!?!?! Would Jesus cut the Texas education budget as Mr. Holy Christian Dan Patrick loves doing? Come on, folks…take a good look at yourselves!
So, Hagee, children “need” both a mother and father? Tell that to four of my female friends who in childhood were raped by their fathers. And tell that to several of my male friends whose fathers were so verbally, physically and emotionally abusive that my friends’ life choices were detrimentally affected by their fathers’ negativity and damage. Thanks, pop!
If Hagee thinks anything other than the mom/dad combo is evil, why isn’t he working to remove all the children being raised by single parents? Some of those kids actually turn out ok. Some actually became president of the USA. It’s not that a child “needs” one female and one male parent; all a child needs is a loving, caring, providing environment regardless of the gender make-up of the parent(s).
Hagee should be more worried about getting his camel through the eye of a needle. He knows what I mean.
Were any city funds used for Natl Day of Prayer in SA? If so, that is a violation of the separation of church and state. Go have prayer contests on your own dime, not the public’s.
All those folks on City Hall steps need to read Matthew 6:5, which says “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.”
I’m gonna carry a sign with that biblical reference at next year’s day of prayer. And next year, it’d be real nice if all those folks who prayed on the steps last week report about how well their prayers were answered. Did Hagee get the new Rolls Royce he was praying for?
I’d like to know how these folks voted (or plan to vote) in the upcoming election. One may snicker at their views, but if the religious right (or religious left for that matter) comes out in full force, we may see Mayor Taylor out front, or in a run-off at the very least, this Sunday morning.
Sadly, I think you are right — the news reports that many conservative pastors in SA are endorsing Ivy from their pulpits as the only true “righteous leader,” since she voted against Nondiscrimination Order. They forget that Ivy voted FOR giving benefits to domestic partnerships for SA city employees — yep, she voted to give benefits to unmarried and same-sex partners of city employees. Ivy, please get consistent in your views!
Those churches whose ministers advocate for political candidates are to have their tax-exempt IRS status revoked for violating the separation of church and state guaranteed by US Constitution.
I don’t read any of these comments as “anti-Christian” at all. I see them as a protest against bigotry. In my opinion, the choice of Hagee to lead this National Day of Prayer in San Antonio as a monumental fail. His brand of prosperity dogma is anathema to many. He uses Cornerstone Church as a political pulpit — I saw Mike Huckabee speak there with my own two eyes during his first run at the presidential nomination. He is seen as a messenger of hate. He is a huge funnel of monetary support for the Zionist state — again political, although he may only see it as helping along The Apocalypse as prophesied in Revelations. This is his right as an American, but he should just pay his taxes instead of hiding behind the cross. We have so many choices of good people of faith in our city. Hagee isn’t one of them.
you lost me at Hagee…LMAO Payer works…. of all forms… but really Hagee…LMAO…SMH
So glad they were there. If you are going to quote scripture, please read it in proper context. After reading the awful comments here, it’s no wonder our country is in its current condition. But we who pray, will continue to do so, even to those who scorn us.
If you are going to play the context card, then please explain what Matthew 6:5 means. What is the “context” for the verse that praying on the street corner is hypocritical? It’s fine with me if you keep on praying, but keep your attempts to pray away civil rights to yourself. And please don’t pray so your high school football team will win, as some folks here in Texas do. Surely The Big Guy has bigger problems to solve.
It is funny that none of the hateful comments on here get deleted, but they delete several comments on the detention center article. Hmm…
What is “hateful” about pointing out blatant bigotry and discrimination and identifying ridiculous, erroneous sweeping statements by profiteers like Hagee?