Alabama governor urges prayer for rain
Pastor Dale Morgan
Alabama governor urges prayer for rain*
By Stan Diel and Budd McLaughlin, Religion News Service
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With the state's weather forecasters not delivering
much-needed rain, Gov. Bob Riley has turned to a higher power, issuing a
proclamation calling for a week of prayer for rain.
Riley encouraged Alabamians to pray, "individually and in their houses
of worship."
"Throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to
humbly ask for his blessings and to hold us steady during times of
difficulty," Riley said. "This drought is without question a time of
great difficulty."
On Sunday, a series of strong thunderstorms brought torrential rain,
flash floods and lightning to the area, but apparently not enough to
bring much relief to the drought-stricken area.
"I don't think it made a big dent," said Patrick Gatlin with the
National Weather Service's Huntsville office. "... This is the most rain
we've seen in quite some time but it definitely won't get us back to
normal."
State proclamations for the national day of prayer and other broad,
non-denominational religious observances are fairly common, said the
Rev. Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church
and State. But government calls for intercessory-type prayer are rare,
he said.
"He shouldn't do these things that raise the specter of government
promoting a particular religion," Lynn said. "It's just a bad idea."