National Day of Prayer Celebrated with Christian Focus

Source: The Times-Picayune

On April 28, 2001, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that "the 50th observance of the National Day of Prayer will be marked...with celebrations across the country and the recitation of a special prayerwritten by evangelist Billy Graham...Recently, boosted by the work of an evangelicalChristian ministry called the National Day of Prayer Task Force, observanceshave continued to expand...The work of the task force has been criticized bychurch-state separationists who believe the day has become focused primarily onChristian expressions of faith and inappropriately mixes religion andgovernment."