National Prayer Breakfast

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The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide.^[1] The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue N.W.

The breakfast, held in the Hilton’s International Ballroom, is attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries. The National Prayer Breakfast is hosted by members of the United States Congress and is organized on their behalf by The Fellowship Foundation, which supports a broad, international movement that seeks to create common ground across religious, political and social divisions purely around the ideas and message of Jesus without affiliation to any one religious institution. Initially called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the name was changed in 1970 to the National Prayer Breakfast.

It is designed to be a forum for political, social and business leaders of the world to assemble together and build relationships which might not otherwise be possible. Since the inception of the National Prayer Breakfast, several U.S. states and cities and other countries have established their own annual prayer breakfast events.

The event has been criticized by organizations such as American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion Foundation,^[2] who describe it as violating separation of church and state.

Contents 1 Speakers 2 Guests 3 Events 4 United Kingdom activities 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Speakers

Each year several guest speakers visit the various events connected with the National Prayer Breakfast. However, the main event, the Thursday morning breakfast, typically has two special guest speakers: the President of the United States and a guest whose identity is kept confidential until that morning. Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the breakfast. A partial list of past keynote speakers includes:

2009 (57th Annual NPB) Tony Blair,^[3] former Prime Minister of the UK

2008 (56th Annual NPB) Ward Brehm,^[4] a Minnesotan who chairs the U.S.-African Development Foundation

2007 (55th Annual NPB) Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute

2006 (54th Annual NPB) Bono,^[5] Irish singer/songwriter and humanitarian

2005 (53rd Annual NPB) Ambassador Tony P. Hall, U.S. Representative to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture

1994 (42nd Annual NPB) Mother Teresa^[6] of Calcutta

1987 Elizabeth Dole, United States Secretary of Transportation

Many of the past addresses by U.S. Presidents to the National Prayer Breakfast are available online.

[edit] Guests

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While Members of the U.S. Congress, of the U.S. Cabinet, and of the diplomatic corps in Washington are typically invited to participate in the National Prayer Breakfast, the other more than 3,000 guests come from a variety of walks of life. Six heads of state attended the 2008 breakfast, along with Members of the European Parliament; United Nations diplomats; European, Asian, African and Latin American politicians; missionaries working in various countries; U.S. and foreign business leaders; and students. Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, participated on more than one occasion, and a video interview of her speaking about the National Prayer Breakfast, its meaning and its impact on her faith, was featured at the 2008 closing dinner. In 2006, King Abdullah II of Jordan addressed the Thursday lunch. Ricardo Maduro, president of Honduras, addressed the same lunch in 2005. Musical guests have included Wintley Phipps, Michael W. Smith, Point of Grace, and CeCe Winans.

[edit] Events

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As mentioned above, the National Prayer Breakfast is more than just the Thursday morning main event. It is a series of events that take place the entire week of the breakfast. Typically, members of Congress hold private meetings with individuals and groups, both American and international, to talk through issues of interest. There are regional breakfasts, luncheons and dinners plus several hospitality suites, such as a Florida suite or a Middle East suite. These present opportunities for people who live in the same regions to meet each other and build relationships outside the official sphere. While many of the events are open to anyone invited to the National Prayer Breakfast, others, such as the Africa breakfast or the international luncheon, require tickets and are only open to certain guests of the National Prayer Breakfast.

[edit] United Kingdom activities

The National Prayer Breakfast in the UK^[7] is organised by a cross party group of MPs and Peers, working under the auspices of Christians in Parliament.^[8] The event normally takes place over two days around the beginning of July, inside the Houses of Parliament. The main breakfast is normally held in Westminster Hall.

[edit] See also

• National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

[edit] References