Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 6, 1994                   TAG: 9405060106
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE FAITHFUL GATHER IN SILENT SUPPLICATION

But, "I wanted to attend a more public service" where she could join with all kinds of people to pray for "national renewal and revival."

So she joined about 125 other people at Lee Plaza in downtown Roanoke from 12:20 until 12:45 Thursday afternoon to pray for the government and its leaders.

"This is a time to pray specifically for our country," White explained before the session began. "We should pray every day" for government and officials, but it's appropriate to set aside a special day to focus on that, White said.

The group at Lee Plaza spent most of the 25 minutes in silent prayer. The Rev. Richard Harris, chaplain to the Roanoke and Roanoke County/Salem jails, led the only spoken prayer. He implored God to bless the nation's citizens, as well as its governmental leaders.

Roanoke Mayor David Bowers read a proclamation naming Thursday the city's Day of Prayer and thanked the gathering for "your continual prayers" for the city's leaders.

The proclamation pointed out that governmentally recognized days of prayer go back to the Continental Congress. Lincoln called for a day of "fasting, humility and prayer" during the Civil War. Most recently, Congress in 1988 set the first Thursday in May every year as the National Day of Prayer.

Not everyone in the country is happy about that. One organization, American Atheists, issued a news release calling President Clinton's national proclamation of the day "an insult to Atheists - and to the founding principles of our nation."

Skip Whitcomb had a different view at Lee Plaza. "We were the first nation founded `under God,'" he said. "We need to return to that."

He quoted an often-cited biblical reference for the need for such a day:

"If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Whitcomb, who moved to Roanoke from Milwaukee in March, hopes to continue advocating interdenominational religious activity by promoting a June 25 "march for Jesus" in the city.

Though Roanoke's meeting - the third to be held here - was distinctly Christian in nature, both Bowers' proclamation and national publicity on the event are deliberately written in nonsectarian language.

The day has been promoted most strongly by a Colorado-based task force made up primarily of evangelical Christians - but including at least one rabbi. Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and Pentecostal organizations also publicized the day.

John Woolwine, the principal organizer of Roanoke's prayer event, said this was the largest such event to date.