150 years ago--Opening ceremonies for the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia include a long opening prayer

On May 10, 1876, the Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, opened in Philadelphia. Running through November 10, 1876, the exposition celebrated the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. The opening ceremonies on May 10, before an audience estimated at 100,000, included the following prayer by Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Matthew Simpson. Lengthy prayers, like lengthy political speeches, seem to have been the norm in those days. Like underwater watches in 1878, electronic amplification "had not even been invented," so speakers could be difficult to hear for those in the audience who were too far away.

Were such a prayer to be delivered today, the speaker would probably be denounced as a "Christian nationalist." As reported by The New York Times, May 11, 1876:

...The venerable Bishop arose and lifting his hands offered a prayer, which, unfortunately, was not audible to a thousandth part of the immense throng. All that appeared was a tall, gray headed gentleman, with his eyes and hands lifted to heaven, standing apparently silent and absorbed at the front of the stage. The prayer was occasionally interrupted by voices from distant points in the crowd; but, except for these, there was silence while the Bishop prayed. The prayer was as follows:

Almighty and everlasting God, our Heavenly Father: Heaven is Thy throne and the earth Thy footstool. Before Thy Majesty and holiness the angels veil their faces, and the spirits of the just made perfect bow in humble adoration. Thou art the creator of all things, the preserver of all that exist, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. The minute and the vast, atoms and worlds, alike attest the ubiquity of Thy presence and the omnipotence of Thy sway.

Thou alone art the sovereign ruler of nations. Thou raiseth up one and casteth down another, and Thou givest the kingdoms of the world to whomsoever Thou wilt. The past, with all its records, is the unfolding of Thy counsels and the realization of Thy grand designs. We hail Thee as our rightful ruler, the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only true God, blessed forevermore.

We come on this glad day, O Thou God of our fathers, into these courts with thaksgiving, into these gates with praise. We bless Thee for Thy wonderful goodness in the past, for the land which Thou gavest to our fathers, a land veiled from the ages, from the ancient world, but revealed in the fullness of time to Thy chosen people, whom Thou didst lead by Thine own right hand through the billows of the deep, a land of vast extent, of towering mountains and broad plains, of unnumbered products and of untold treasures.

We thank Thee for the fathers of our country, men of mind and of might, who endured privations and sacrifices, who braved multiplied dangers rather than defile their consciences, or be untrue to their God, men who laid on the broad foundations of truth and justice the grand structure of civil freedom.

We praise Thee for the closing century, for the founders of the Republic, for the immortal Washington and is grand associates; for the wisdom with which they planned, and the firmness and heroism which, under Thy blessing, led them to triumphant success. Thou wast their shield in hours of danger, their pillar of cloud by day, and their pillar of fire by night. May we, their sons, walk in their footsteps and imitate their virtues.

We thank Thee for social and national prosperity and progress, for valuable discoveries and multiple inventions, for labor-saving machinery relieving the toiling masses, for schools free as the morning light, for the millions of the rising generation; for books and periodicals scattered like leaves of autumn over the land, for art and science, for freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience, for a church unfettered by the trammels of state.

Bless, we pray thee, the President of the United States and his constitutional advisers, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Senators and Representatives in Congress, the Governors of our several Commonwealths, the officers of the Army and the Navy, and all who are in official position throughout our land. Guide them, we pray Thee, with counsels of wisdom, and may they ever rule in righteousness. We ask Thy blessing to rest upon the President and members of the Centennial Commission, and upon those associated with them in the various departments, who have labored long and earnestly, amid anxieties and difficulties, for the success of this enterprise.

May Thy special blessing, O Thou God of all the nations of the earth, rest upon our national guests, our visitors from distant lands. We welcome them to our shores, and we rejoine in their presence among us, whether they represent thrones or culture or research, or whether they come to exhibit the triumphs of genius and art, in the development of industry and in the progress of civilization. Preserve thou them, we beseech Thee, in health and safety, and in due time may they be welcomed by loved ones again to their own, their native lands.

Let Thy blessing rest richly on this Centennial Celebration. May the lives and health of all interested by precious in Thy sight. Preside in its assemblies. Grant that this association in effort bind more closely together every part of our great Republic, so that our Union may be perpetual and indissoluble. Let its influence draw the nations of earth into a happier unity. Hereafter we pray Thee, may all disputed questions be settled by arbitration, and not by the sword, and may wars forever cease among the sons of men.

May the new century be better than the past. More radiant with the light of true philosophy, warmer with the emanations of a world-wide sympathy. May capital, genius, and labor be freed from all antagonism by the establishment and application of such principles of justice and equity as shall reconcile diversified interests and bind in imperishable bands all parts of society.

We pray Thy benediction, especially on the women of America, who for the first time in the history of our race, take so conspicuous a place in a national celebration. May the light of their intelligence, purity, and enterprise shed its beams afar, until in distant lands, their sisters may realize the beauty and glory of Christian freedom and elevation. We bseech Thee, Almighty Father, that our beloved Republic may be strengthened in every element of true greatness, until her mission is accomplished by presenting to the world an illustration of the happiness of a free people, with a free church, in a free State, under laws of their own enactment, and under rulers of their own selection, acknowledging supreme allegiance only to the King of King and Lord of Lords. And as Thou didst give to one of its illustrious sons first to draw experimentally the electric spark from heaven, which has since girdled the globe in its celestial whispers of "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to men," so to latest time may the mission of America, under divine inspiration be one of affection, brotherhood, and love for all our race. And may the coming centuries be filled with the glory of our Christian civilization.

And unto Thee, our Father, through Him whose life is the light of men, will we ascribe glory and praise, now and forever.

The "amen" was faintly echoed by the vast congregation, and instantly there came from the orchestral stage a grand burst of music which thrilled and stirred the thousands and thousands of listeners to their hearts' depths. A thousand voices accompanied by organ and orchestra, were singing Whittier's "Centennial Hymn." The words of the opening lines --

"Our Father's God! from out whose hand
The centuries fall like grains of sand,
We meet to-day."--

echoed through the air.

60 years ago--The U.S. Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, prohibits mandated prayer in public schools

When Americans think of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that had the effect of removing God from public schools, the name that comes to mind is Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder of American Atheists, who filed suit on behalf of her son Bill Murray, who was in a public school system that mandated Bible-reading. Her case, Murray v. Curlett, was folded into Abington School District v. Schempp, in which Edward Schempp, a Unitarian Universalist and a resident of Abington Township, Pennsylvania, filed suit against the Abington School District in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to prohibit the enforcement of a Pennsylvania law that required at least 10 verses of the Bible to be read without comment at the beginning of each public school day. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 on June 17, 1963 in favour of the plaintiff, concluding that public schools cannot sponsor Bible readings and recitations of the Lord's Prayer under the clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

The Court, in Abington School District v. Schempp, upheld its ruling from a year earlier in a related case. On June 25, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled by a 6-1 margin that the state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if it is not required and not tied to a particular religion. As reported by Justia (bold in original):

Justia Opinion Summary and Annotations

Annotation

Primary Holding

The state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if it is not required and not tied to a particular religion.

Facts

The state board of regents in New York wrote a voluntary prayer to Almighty God that was intended to open each school day. A group of organizations joined forces in challenging the prayer, including families and institutions dedicated to the Jewish faith. They claimed that this violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, but the New York Court of Appeals rejected their arguments. While nearly half of the state governors in the U.S. contributed to an amicus brief asking the Court to uphold this finding that the prayer was constitutional, several national Jewish organizations submitting opposing briefs seeking its invalidation.

Opinions

Majority

Hugo Lafayette Black (Author)
Earl Warren
William Orville Douglas
Tom C. Clark
John Marshall Harlan II
William Joseph Brennan, Jr.

Relying on historical analysis, Black emphasized the significance of separating church from state and identified a school prayer as a religious activity, no matter its specific wording. As a result, the state of New York had used its power to promote a certain set of religious beliefs by encouraging children to comply with its own. Black was not persuaded that the general wording of the prayer and the fact that the prayer was voluntary were enough to insulate it from the First Amendment. He observed that not every religion recognizes a God, so some are necessarily excluded even with this wording.

Concurrence

William Orville Douglas (Author)

Dissent

Potter Stewart (Author)

Recused

Byron Raymond White (Author)
Felix Frankfurter

Case Commentary

While students theoretically could have opted out of participating in the prayer, the majority and proponents of its decision recognized that children are unlikely to choose not to engage in a teacher-led activity. The outcome might be different if the case had involved an educational institution with adult students.

The Court's general antipathy toward prayer in schools would be extended by later decisions that struck down clergy-led prayers at graduation ceremonies, student-led prayers at football games, and time set aside during the school day for prayer or meditation.

U.S. Supreme Court
Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
Engel v. Vitale

No. 468

Argued April 3, 1962

Decided June 25, 1962

370 U.S. 421

Syllabus

Because of the prohibition of the First Amendment against the enactment of any law "respecting an establishment of religion," which is made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, state officials may not compose an official state prayer and require that it be recited in the public schools of the State at the beginning of each school day -- even if the prayer is denominationally neutral and pupils who wish to do so may remain silent or be excused from the room while the prayer is being recited. Pp. 370 U.S. 422-436.

10 N.Y.2d 174, 176 N.E.2d 579, reversed.

Page 370 U.S. 422

In 1951 and again in 1955, the Board of Regents of New York adopted a resolution calling for reading the following nondemoninational prayer in classrooms to begin the school day:

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country. Amen.

The plaintiffs, residents of North Hempstead, New York, were parents Steven Engel, Monroe Lerner, Lenore Lyons, Dan Lichtenstein and Larry Ross. Mr. Engel, who was Jewish, was named the lead plaintiff because his name came first in alphabetical order. The American Civil Liberties Union (surprise!) aided the plaintiffs, who lost in the Supreme Court of New York (1959); Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division (1960); and Court of Appeals of New York (1961). However, the highest court in the nation reversed the New York rulings. Roman Catholic writer Paul A. Fisher, in his book Behind the Lodge Door (1994, pp. 161-162), argued that the Supreme Court's anti-religious rulings during the post-World War II era came at a time when the Court was dominated by Freemasons. According to Mr. Fisher:

The truth is, prayer and Bible reading were integral to the "Protestant" public school system in the United States until the Supreme Court's Engel decision in 1962 and its Schempp ruling in 1963-a period when Masons dominated the Court by a six-to-three ratio.

The U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Engel v. Vitale and Abington School District v. Schempp were heavily criticized by Christians and other American at the time, and have been accused of playing a major role in changing the country for the worse, and no longer being "a nation under God." The critics turned out to be right.

Those who like to use the phrase "Judeo-Christian" may be surprised to learn that not only did the plaintiffs have a disproportionate number of Jewish-sounding names, but in appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, they were joined by the American Jewish Committee, the Synagogue Council of America, and the American Ethical Union, each of whom submitted briefs urging the Supreme Court to reverse the New York rulings (which is an example of why this blogger no longer uses the phrase "Judeo-Christian"--Judeo values are not Christian values). While Madalyn Murray O'Hair is still remembered for her role in removing mandated Bible-reading from public schools, the role of Jews in the case that removed mandated prayer from public schools has been airbrushed from history. To quote Sherlock Holmes out of context, "Most singular! Most remarkable!!"

"Christians," Muslims, and Jews open House of One in Berlin

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Amos 3:3

The Antichrist's agenda continues to advance on schedule; as reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Israel365 News, June 29, 2021 (links in original):

Last month, a rabbi, imam, and priest laid the cornerstone for the House of One, a multi-faith prayer space built on top of the ruins of the 13th century Petrikirche (St. Peter’s Church) in Berlin. The original church was damaged in WWII and torn down by the Communist regime in 1964. During the ceremony, a Jewish prayer book, a piece of cloth from the Kaaba in Mecca, a miniature of the Coventry Cross of Nails (symbol of peace and reconciliation), and a copy of the document naming the provost of what was then St. Peter’s Church as the first citizen of Berlin in 1237 were placed in a copper capsule and enclosed in the cornerstone.

Ten years of planning went into the project and it is estimated that construction will require €47 million and be completed in four years. The final building will include a mosque, synagogue, and a church linked to a central meeting space. The central hall will also be used for gatherings of other faiths and atheists.

“The idea is pretty simple,” said Roland Stolte, a Christian theologian who helped start the project. “We wanted to build a house of prayer and learning, where these three religions could co-exist while each retaining their own identity.”

The three religions will be represented by Imam Kadir Sanci, Rabbi Andreas Nachama, and Father Gregor Hohberg, a Protestant priest. Rabbi Nachama, a rabbi organizing the project, said that Christians, Muslims, and Jews would worship separately, but would visit each other for religious holidays, commemorations, and celebrations.

Roland Stolte, a Christian theologian who helped start the project, noted that there were concerns from the public.

“In the first few years there were some fears that we were mixing religions or trying to create a new religion, Stolte told the Guardian.”

Despite the fears, the concept of universal prayer has its roots in the Bible and is explicitly described by the Prophet Zechariah:

And Hashem shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Hashem with one name. Zechariah 14:9

This concept of multiple religions worshipping God together is further described in prophecy as the basis for the Third Temple in Jerusalem:

I will bring them to My sacred mount And let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices Shall be welcome on My mizbayach; For My House shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7

This vision is shared by Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein, founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute. Rabbi Goshen-Gottstein is planning a similar project in Jerusalem named the Center for HOPE (an acronym for ‘House of Prayer and Education’). He approved of the project while noting that Jerusalem has a special role to play in this Biblical vision.

“Berlin may have some negative historical connotations for some people but as a city, it symbolizes reconciliation and becoming whole again,” the rabbi said.

“The Biblical prophecy of God’s name being one does not mean everyone converting to one religion,” the rabbi said. “It will be more like each religion going through an internal conversion that will bring us all together to serve God.”

Rabbi Goshen-Gottstein sees prayer as playing a vital role in this process.

“We want to change the image of religion from one of competition to one that brings us together with all people turning to one God,” Rabbi Goshen-Gottstein said. “It is a very simple thing. Each religion prays in the presence of the other in parallel prayer spaces, affirming the presence of the other, indicating a willingness to live together in peace.”

As reported by the English newspaper The Guardian, February 21, 2021 (link in original):

On the site of a church torn down by East Germany’s communist rulers, a new place of worship is set to rise that will bring Christians, Jews and Muslims under one roof – and it has already been dubbed a “churmosquagogue”.

The foundation stone of the House of One in Berlin will be laid at a ceremony on 27 May, marking the end of 10 years of planning and the beginning of an estimated four years of construction, and symbolising a new venture in interfaith cooperation and dialogue. The €47m building, designed by Berlin architects Kuehn Malvezzi, will incorporate a church, a mosque and a synagogue linked to a central meeting space. People of other faiths and denominations, and those of no faith, will be invited to events and discussions in the large hall.

“The idea is pretty simple,” said Roland Stolte, a Christian theologian who helped start the project. “We wanted to build a house of prayer and learning, where these three religions could co-exist while each retaining their own identity.”

Andreas Nachama, a rabbi who is turning the vision into reality in partnership with a pastor and imam, said: “There are many different ways to God, and each is a good way.” In the House of One, Christians, Muslims and Jews would worship separately, but would visit each other for religious holidays, commemorations and celebrations, he added.

“It is more than a symbol. It is the start of a new era where we show there is no hate between us.”

The House of One will be built on the site of St Peter’s church in Petriplatz, which was damaged during the second world war and demolished in 1964 by the GDR authorities. When the foundations of the church were uncovered more than a decade ago, consideration was given to a memorial or a new church on the site. “But we wanted to create a new kind of sacred building that mirrors Berlin today,” said Stolte. “The initiators are acting as placeholders. This is not a club for monotheistic religions – we want others to join us.”

The federal government and the state of Berlin have between them contributed €30m to the cost of the project, with another €9m coming from donations and fundraising. A new drive for contributions, launched in December, is expected to fill the gap of nearly €8m.

The project has been generally supported by faith communities and the public, said Stolte, although “in the first few years there were some fears that we were mixing religions or trying to create a new religion”.

The inclusion in the planning of people of no faith was a very important aspect of the House of One project, he said. “East Berlin is a very secular place. Religious institutions have to find new language and ways to be relevant, and to make connections.”

The leaders of the House of One aren't even united on who God is, and they're deceived if they think this edifice is anything other than an abomination to the God of the Bible. The rabbis quoted in the above articles are especially deceived; like those in the time of Jesus, they don't know the scriptures. The complete text of Isaiah 56:7 reads:

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

The phrase "holy mountain," which appears seven times in the book of Isaiah and several times elsewhere in the Old Testament, always refers to Jerusalem. This is particularly clear in Isaiah 66:20:

And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

Dominionists and compromising evangelicals team up with the intention of praying for every person in the United States by name

The reader will notice quite a mixed bag of organizations involved in this, but one should always beware of International House of Prayer, which denies being part of the New Apostolic Reformation, but which has similar doctrines and practices. Useful information on IHOP can be found at some of the blogs on my blogroll, but I especially recommend IHOP is New Age. If this keeps up, maybe these people will adopt the Mormon Latter-day Saints practice of praying for the dead.

As reported by Phil Anderson of the Topeka Capital-Journal, August 16, 2019 (link in original):

Praying for every single person in the United States by name may seem like an overwhelming assignment, but a group of local pastors and church leaders say they are committed to taking on that task.

Leaders from various Topeka-area churches have been meeting as part of the All America prayer initiative, which is being organized by an organization named “call2all.”

Organizers say the goal of the All America prayer initiative is to mobilize millions of Christians “to pray for and connect with their neighbors until all 127 million households and every school campus in America is adopted.”

As part of the initiative, which is starting in Kansas, organizers said participants will pray for their neighbors regularly, then “connect with them personally, connect them with Jesus, connect them with the Bible” and finally “connect them with a Christian community.”

New forms of technology, including the All.American phone app, are being used in the effort, organizers said.

A recent meeting in Topeka, which was held at First Assembly of God Church, 500 S.W. 27th, attracted about 200 people from the capital city and northeast Kansas.

The Rev. Doyle Pryor, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Topeka, was among attendees at the meeting.

Pryor noted the initiative includes a number of major Christian mission organizations.

“They all got together and said, ‘Why don’t we pool our resources and work together?’ because what we’re doing isn’t working,” Pryor said. “Let’s turn our eyes back to America. They all said, ‘Let’s start with Kansas.’ ”

According to information provided by the All America prayer initiative, nationally known ministries taking part in the effort include the International House of Prayer, the Luis Palau Association, Youth With a Mission, the Family Research Council and the American Bible Society.

Pryor said one of the main motivations of the All America prayer initiative is focusing on the United States as a mission field.

While other areas of the world are experiencing growth in the number of Christians, organizers of the All America prayer initiative said, the United States has seen a “rapid spiritual and moral decline.” Leaders said they believe God has granted the United States a “reprieve” for a brief period of time.

Hal Smith, pastor of Oakland Community Church, said the first goal of the initiative is to pray for every home and every individual in the United States, starting with Kansas.

Then, Smith said, the goal is to pray for every individual in the world.

Smith said “it’s a huge task,” noting that what is learned in Kansas will be taken nationwide.

Ricky Cruse, of Topeka, also attended the recent meeting at First Assembly of God Church. He said he hopes the prayer initiative “ignites a fire” and results in spiritual renewal.

“This is huge,” Cruse said. “There’s power in prayer.”

For more information, visit www.allamerica.org.

Backlog: Dominionists pray for Toledo

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Matthew 6:5

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. John 18:36

Another old item that I should have posted a couple of years ago. The reader will notice the unbiblical position of leadership occupied by a female "pastor;" the misuse of scripture in the service of a dominionist agenda; the openness to working with non-Christian religions; and the seven mountains of dominion. I don't know what's happened to the spiritual climate of Toledo in the last two years, but I doubt that it's improved. As reported by T.K. Barger of the Toledo Blade, January 2, 2016:

Thursday will be the 179th anniversary of Toledo’s incorporation, and one group will be focusing on the city’s motto, Laborare est Orare, which means “to work is to pray.”

The group members pray in their work, and for the Thursday event they are inviting Toledoans to join them.

At 7 p.m. Thursday at the Parkway Place Banquet Hall, 2592 Parkway Plaza, Maumee, “Toledo Prays,” which emerged from a network of about 40 pastors called Merge, will involve more than a dozen pastors and other leaders of faith who will offer prayers for Toledo.

To get tickets for the free event, go to pray.500k.org.

“The focus on the prayer is faith-in-Christ motivated,” said the

Rev. George Williams of Toledo’s CityLight Church, one of the event organizers. “We’re not necessarily praying for prosperity of our city, although we’re praying for peace and safety, but we’re really praying for people to encounter Christ.

” The Merge network has a vision called 500K, a movement “birthed out of a corporate prayer movement here in Toledo to see every lost soul in Greater Toledo saved,” the pray.500k.org page notes. For Toledo Prays, “We will be praying for the government, families, media, entertainment, and religion,” said the Rev. Barb Herzog. “We’re going to be praying over the seers of influence in our city.”

Pastors Herzog and Williams were asked about the inclusiveness of the prayer time. People of other faiths who want to stand with them are welcome, “but at this point it’s not an interfaith event,” Pastor Herzog said.

Toledo-area Muslims have held peace rallies and common prayer services open to all in response to hateful rhetoric directed against all Islamic people and the Islamist terrorist attacks that they denounce. Members of the United Muslim Association of Toledo recently stood together with Christian pastors from the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Toledo and Vicinity, Jewish students from University of Toledo Hillel, and other faith-oriented people to emphasize common bonds.

“Orare” in Toledo has not been limited recently by religion.

Pastors Williams and Herzog said all are welcome at Toledo Prays but, as Pastor Williams put it, “I don’t know if it would be relevant to someone who doesn’t have Christ on the same level.” It will be prayer in Jesus’ name, with their 500,000-souls objective, and Pastor Williams said for Muslims, “Jesus is represented in their scriptures, but not necessarily in the same capacity that the Christian faith does.”

Even so, standing in solidarity with prayers for the city has been and will continue to be a multifaith practice.

Pastor Williams shared another aim for the event, one on an earthly, not heavenly, level: to inspire other communities to have similar prayer meetings and have an impact on the region. “I’d like to see an event like this duplicated on a smaller level, like Sylvania, in a sense of saying as the church community gathered together, let’s pray for the people of Sylvania,” he said.

Prayer maps have been printed by 500K, covering the greater Toledo region from “Bowling Green to Lambertville and Bedford,” Pastor Williams said. Prayer points are marked, and there are prayer spots to fill in, he said.

Besides Toledo Prays, Merge is encouraging participation in a fast that began Friday and will extend to Jan. 21. A fast-ending “Pastor’s Prayer Summit” is planned Jan. 21 and 22 at the Faholo Conference Center in Grass Lake, Mich. See merge.500k.org for details.

The website for the event doesn't seem to exist anymore, but this is what was there in 2016 (bold in original):

Toledo Prays - citywide prayer event

Parkway Place Event Venue, Toledo, OH

Event Description

The motto of Toledo is, "Laborare est Orare.” It is our city seal, but very few know what it means because it is written in Latin. It is an old Benedictine saying, "To work is to pray.” Prayer is at the very core of our city’s foundation. In this hour there is a call going out like never before...A call to pray like its our job. A call to pray as we work. January 7th marks the 179th birthday of Toledo. As we collectively step into a new year, we are calling out to the Body of Christ in this city to join together and pray and to join in unity, as one voice declaring "Toledo is the Lords!"

God's desire is that all would pray and that all would be saved.

Toledo Prays is an event inspired by 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

As we join together in this New Year, we will be praying for His will be done into the seven spheres of society over Toledo:

Family
Business
Government
Religion
Media
Arts and Entertainment
Education

Please consider making a donation while registering for this event. Doors will open at 6:30p.m.

When
Thursday, January 7, 2016 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST) - Add to Calendar

Where
Parkway Place Event Venue - 2594 Parkway Plaza Toledo, OH 43537

I recommend the following posts at Herescope on the subject of dominionism:

Where Rick Warren's Disciples Are (November 21, 2006)

The "7-M Mandate" (June 15, 2007)

Seven Apostolic Spheres (June 25, 2007)

Neo-Kuyperian Spheres (June 28, 2007)

"The 'Secret' Mission" (July 18, 2007)

The "Cultural Mandate" (July 23, 2007)

Creating Heaven on Earth (February 14, 2008)

"Reclaiming the Dominion Mandate" (May 7, 2010)

Mainstreaming Dominionism (May 18, 2010)

The Controlling Mythology Underlying the Dominion Mandate (May 21, 2010)

Seven Mountains (June 24, 2010)

The Next Great Awakening. . .
. . . or Great Deadening? (September 20, 2010)

Denying Dominionism (August 26, 2011)

Documenting Dominionism (September 3, 2011)

Who Invented Dominionism? (September 9, 2011)

Ecumenical Quest (January 19, 2016)

I especially recommend the following article, which contains links to numerous other articles on dominionism:

7 Mountain Politics and Theology (February 24, 2016)

30 years ago: Unitarian minister's prayer shocks Edmonton City Council

Until fairly recently, council meetings in Edmonton and other Canadian cities opened with prayer. However, the out-of-control atheistic mentally and morally retarded body known as the Supreme Court of Canada has seen fit to outlaw the practice in recent years, which will be the subject of another post, if I ever get around to it. The Unitarian Church, as the name indicates, isn't Christian, and this minister's requests make that obvious. As reported by the Edmonton Journal, December 10, 1986:

City council heard proposals Tuesday for a local abortion clinic, a nuclear-free Edmonton, and a worker-owned co-operative at the strikebound Gainers plant.

And that was just in the morning prayer.

Several aldermen raised bowed heads and stared in open shock as the minister, invited to deliver council's traditional opening prayer, ran down his Christmas wish list.

Rev. John Marsh of the Unitarian Church of Edmonton asked first that Edmonton be declared a nuclear-weapons-free zone. He asked next for a therapeutic abortion clinic.

"...Third, if (Peter) Pocklington does not want to own a meat-packing plant in our city, let the city make the financial arrangements for it to become a worker-owned co-operative."

Marsh acknowledged afterwards council members seemed "mildly disturbed" by his prayer.

Clergymen are picked at random to deliver a prayer to open council's regular meetings.

Seattle scam artist ordered to shut down "pay for prayer" website and repay almost $7.75 million to bilked consumers

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. Isaiah 56:7

And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. Mark 11:15-17

As reported by Samuel Connelly of Wichita Christian Faith & Culture Examiner, March 17, 2016 (links in original):

SEATTLE – Pastor John Carlson of Christian Prayer Center (CPC) was ordered Wednesday, to take down his prayer website and repay nearly $7,750,000 to approximately 165,000 unwitting customers nationwide who were deceived into paying for prayers from fictional ministries and fabricated pastors.

According to the statement released by Washington State’s, Office of the Attorney General (AGO), Attorney General Bob Ferguson called a stop to the deceptive business practice that had not only fabricated names for nonexistent pastors, but had also created false testimonials using stock photos on their website.

Benjamin Rogovy, the real name of the man behind the masks, offered to pray for those who shared their prayer needs on his websites, christianprayercenter.com and oracioncristiana.org, for a fee ranging between $9 and $35 for his services. The websites claimed that whenever Pastor John Carlson prayed for people, they got whatever they wanted including, winning lottery tickets, negative HIV tests, healthy babies, and even saving homes from foreclosure. The problem with these testimonies where that they were all made up. The testimonies. The stories. Even the names of the pastors were fabricated.

The Christian Post, reported that the websites claimed that they were more effective at answering prayers than small prayer groups since they had an online network of thousands of people that would receive consumer’s prayers:

“Local churches and small group prayer lists have been a wonderful way to share the blessings of prayer, but these methods are limited in their ability to rally the true power of thousands of voices all praying in agreement. The Internet has enabled us to build a massive congregation to lift your prayer requests to a whole new level...”

...According to Ferguson, “Rogovy and the CPC created fake religious leaders and posted false testimonials in order to attract consumers. The CPC claimed that “Pastor John Carlson” solely ran the sites. It would send weekly inspirational emails to consumers under the pastor’s name, and even created a fake LinkedIn profile that described the Pastor’s experience as “Senior Pastor, Christian Prayer Center, January 2009 — present.” CPC also used the name “Pastor Eric Johnston” to sign consumer correspondence. Neither of these people exist.”

Further investigation into the websites by the AGO revealed a “deliberately confusing webpage to lock consumers into reoccurring payments.” According to the investigation once a person logged into the site and paid for their prayer they were transferred to another page that asked them if they wanted to continue to receive blessings. When the unsuspecting person agreed, in would enter their information into a data base to be charged monthly fees.

“…the websites used a deliberately confusing webpage to lock consumers into recurring monthly payments. The AGO investigation found that once consumers submitted and paid for a prayer request, they were directed to a Web page that gave them the option to receive “continued blessings.” The information was presented in a confusing manner and inadequately disclosed that the charges would reoccur until the consumer cancelled.”

Looking at the Christian Prayer Center Facebook page you wouldn’t think there was anything suspect about this ministry. It encourages their million plus followers with daily prayer posters and memes while offering a place for people to share their prayer needs. An excerpt from the ‘General Information’ on the ‘About’ section of their Facebook:

“Please note that we exist online only. We provide this Facebook group as a free service to our members, as well as the ability to use our website for free to read prayer requests of others. Any voluntary payments made to post prayer requests on our website are not tax-deductible.” CPC's Facebook page turned out to be just one of the ways the business lured people with prayer needs to their website where at least 165,000 were duped into entering a credit card number.

Rogovy had also created another for-profit entity online called “Christian National Church” pastored by the fictional, Pastor Parker Robinson.” District Attorney Ferguson said Rogovy used the same deceptive tactics to draw desperate people into his scam.

As part of an agreement announced Thursday in court, Rogovy must return all the money to eligible consumers. In addition, the court ordered the businessman to: Stop all unfair and deceptive business practices; clearly present and disclose payment information; pay $500,000 and attorney costs and enforcement fees; and be subject to $1,000,000 in civil penalties that are suspended as long as terms of the agreement aren’t violated...

...If you have been taken advantage of, or, if you know someone who has been taken advantage of by Christian Prayer Center or Oracion Cristiana at any time beginning in July 1, 2011, you must file a complaint with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office by June 12, 2016.

You can file your complaint HERE.

Edmonton's Urban Sanctuary offers four days of instruction in spiritual formation--for only $325

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. II Peter 1:3 (NIV)

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. II Peter 2:1-3

For background information on spiritual formation, I recommend searching under the terms "spritual formation" and "spiritual disciplines" at Critical Issues Commentary (look for printed material and radio broadcasts); Kjos Ministries; Lighthouse Trails Research Project; and Herescope. Spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation are advocated by those who believe that there are techniques or practices that Christians can employ that will enable them to live above the level of "ordinary" Christian existence. As II Peter 1:3 states, however, we already have everything we need for a godly life, and Peter didn't include spiritual disciplines or spiritual formation among the "everything."

Urban Sanctuary, affiliated with Larry Crabb's New Way Ministries, is Edmonton, Alberta's leading centre for the teaching of spiritual formation. Its latest event is a four-day workshop titled Biblical and Historical Foundations of Spiritual Formation (registration link deleted by blogger):

"Spiritual Formation" has come into its own ... at least as a Google search term.

Just type "spiritual formation" into your search engine and you will find pages and pages of websites and online articles referring to it in some way or another, plus a couple of handfuls of related searches. You can even go to Christianity today and other well known magazines and find, again, pages and pages of articles referenceing "spiritual formation." And, as with most popular search terms, you can also find controversy. Some say spiritual formation is essential to life in Christ, others claim it is unbiblical and a return to works righteousness.

Many pastors, church leaders, and christians in general are unsure what to think about spiritual formation. On the one hand they identify with statements like this, which speak of a need for a new look at spiritual maturity:
Our world today cries out for a theology of spiritual growth that has been proven to work in the midst of the harsh realities of daily life. Sadly, many have simply given up on the possibility of growth in character formation.
Vast numbers of well-intended folk have exhausted themselves in church work and discovered that this did not substantively change their lives. They found that they were just as impatient and egocentric and fearful as when they began lifting the heavy load of church work. Maybe more so. (Richard Foster, The Spiritual Formation Agenda, February 4, 2009)

But, on the otherhand, they are not interested in a new direction or teaching that doesn't have a firm place both in the Bible and in Christian history, including Protestant Christian history.

The goal of this seminar is to address the place of spiritual maturity and spiritual formation, as it is defined in our day, both in the Bible and in the lives of Christ followers throughout the centuries. It is a seminar for pastors, church leaders, and all those who want to find out more about spiritual formation and the place it has in our lives as Christians.

Dates and Times:

August 13 – 16, 2012 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.,

Location : Urban Sanctuary

Cost: $325, lunch is provided each day

Sound interesting but you can't make if for the whole time? You can also come half-time for $150 (Lunch not included)...
•Mornings - Biblical Foundations of Spiritual Formation
•Or Afternoons - Historical Foundations of Spiritual Formation

On the page of Urban Sanctuary's website titled Our Vision, you read:

Our goal is to send people back into the Body after being brought to a place of maturity and to stimulate the Body to a new way of thinking (spiritual theology), a new way of living ( the hope of sanctification) and a new way of relating (loving deeply)...

...We desperately want to keep that flame alive and so feel that our mission is to safeguard and teach an understanding and practice of spirituality that once marked evangelical churches over a hundred years ago...

...We feel a revolution must take place to recover the power of sanctification in the life of a Christian. We need a Biblical theology of spirituality, a practical knowledge of the spiritual journey and a humbleness to learn and help each other in the journey.

Urban Sanctuary talks about "biblical theology of spirituality," while encouraging practices that aren't found in the Bible (and I hardly need mention that evangelical churches "over a hundred years ago" didn't engage in the spiritual activities promoted by Urban Sanctuary, but were opposed to them). Please keep in mind that Urban Sanctuary charges a hefty fee--$325 for 4 daytime sessions--in order to help others in "practical knowledge of the spiritual journey."

Urban Sanctuary apparently sees no irony in charging people over $80 per day for spiritual growth, while affirming "sustainability" as one of its values:

We will work, both corporately and privately, so that we will not be a burden to the body of Christ. This will involve living a simple lifestyle and learning skills that can support us financially.

At $325 per person for a 4-day workshop (and they don't even give you lunch if you go only for half-day sessions), it seems that some people are being asked to fork over a lot of money in order to help Urban Sanctuary maintain its "simple lifestyle." In this respect, Urban Sanctuary resembles the ashram of Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi:

In fact Gandhi’s own ashram, with his own very expensive ‘simple’ tastes and innumerable ‘secretaries’ and handmaidens, had to be heavily subsidized by three merchant princes. As one of his circle observed: ‘It costs a great deal of money to keep Gandhiji living in poverty.’ Paul Johnson, A History of the Modern World from 1917 to the 1980s (1983), p. 471

Manitoba atheist whines that regulations against prayer in school aren't being enforced

As usual, the lone atheist demands that everyone must conform to his desires; in the words of Vox Day, "most atheism is little more than a juvenile psychological disorder" ("Godlessness is more than a-theism," May 25, 2011). As reported by Nick Martin of the Winnipeg Free Press on June 24, 2011:

Children pray in public-school classrooms during school hours throughout Manitoba -- apparently in violation of provincial rules that the department of education says it will not enforce.

The Lord's Prayer is being read over the intercom by the principal or in classrooms by teachers.

Schools allow parent councils to organize petitions for religious exercises through the schools, and in a few cases, directly help organize them.

Parents receive yes-or-no ballots and are told they must fill in and sign forms if they do not want their children to pray in a supposedly secular school.

And there are even schools in which non-praying students are expected to stand quietly in their classrooms while their classmates recite the Lord's Prayer all around them.

Every one of these actions violates Manitoba's guidelines on religious exercises in secular public schools, says Dauphin lawyer and atheist Chris Tait.

But the province says its only recourse is to remind school divisions about guidelines -- after that, it's up to individuals to take their complaints to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission or the courts.

It was back in 1986 that Tait was suspended several times for refusing to stand during the reciting of the Lord's Prayer in his MacGregor Collegiate classroom. That led to a historic 1992 court case in which the Court of Queen's Bench struck down mandatory school prayer in Manitoba.

More than 20 Manitoba school divisions are violating the province's guidelines on religious exercises, said Tait. He filed Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applications to school divisions and provided the results to the Free Press.

"I think it's very deliberate that they ignore (the guidelines)," Tait said. "They're on a project to push through a religious agenda. They're getting people to co-operate that aren't of the Christian faith."

Education Minister Nancy Allan declined a request to be interviewed. An aide to the minister bumped inquiries to David Yeo, director of the education administration services branch.

The province reminded school divisions of the guidelines in a meeting last fall, Yeo said.

"The issue whether prayer should exist in public schools is a controversial one. The Public Schools Act permits it," Yeo said. "Ultimately, school boards are legally autonomous entities."

When the province gets a complaint, it reminds the school division about the guidelines, but beyond that, it's up to individuals to pursue complaints with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission or with the courts, Yeo said.

"School boards have the responsibility to implement it appropriately. The recourse is to the commission," Yeo said. "At the end of the day, it's the finders of fact which can issue a remedy. That's the commission or the court."

The prayers of saints are precious to God

When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NASB)

The thought that the prayers of saints are kept in golden bowls and have the aroma of incense is too wonderful for my limited imagination to comprehend--but it's an encouragement to keep praying.

HT: Ed Major

40 years ago: The revised Roman Catholic calendar

On May 9, 1969 a revised Roman Catholic calendar of church feasts, dropping more than 200 saints and adding saints from outside Europe, was published in Rome. Among those dropped because of doubt that they ever existed was St. Christopher. I can't help but wonder how many people wasted their time and effort trusting in and praying to saints who may not have existed instead of trusting in and praying to the God who does exist.

Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to pray to saints, but we're continually exhorted to pray to God. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us:

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6 (NIV)

Jesus also prayed to His Father. Perhaps the best example of this is found in John 17, where He prayed for Himself (verses 1-5); His disciples (6-19); and all believers in Him (20-26).

I can't improve on the Holy Spirit-inspired words of the Apostle Paul:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)