Get The Facts.
What is the American Prayer Hour?
The American Prayer Hour is an affirmation of inclusive values and a celebration of diversity that is the bedrock of our nation. It is also a protest of The National Prayer Breakfast, which is hosted by The Family. This group is a secretive fundamentalist organization directly tied to the draconian “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda. We strongly urge those invited to the National Prayer Breakfast to reconsider attending the event. Instead, they can join us at our American Prayer Hour.
To learn more about the connection to Uganda’s harsh legislation, see NPR’s “U.S. Exports Culture War to Uganda”
When is The American Prayer Hour?
The American Prayer Hour will take place on February 4, 2010 – the same day as The National Prayer Breakfast. It will be a decentralized series of powerful and inspirational events across America. This action will be anchored by four key events in Washington, DC, Dallas, Chicago and Berkeley.
- Dallas—Creating Change (Sheraton Dallas – Dallas Ballroom A)
- Chicago Theological Seminary (The Chapel)
- Berkeley–Pacific School of Religion (The Chapel)
- Washington (Calvary Baptist Church, Chapel)
How can I help?
If you live in Washington, Dallas, Berkeley or Chicago, please consider attending our American Prayer Hour events. If you are interested in creating an American Prayer Hour event in your town, please contact Wayne Besen, wbesen@truthwinsout.org.
Participants across America are encouraged to post videos and pictures from their events on the Internet.
What do we hope to accomplish?
- We are here to do everything in our power to stop the Anti-Homosexuality Bill from becoming law in Uganda.
- One goal of The American Prayer Hour is to share our inclusive vision and worldview by celebrating our core values of diversity, justice, respect for all people and religious pluralism.
- We hope to spotlight the activists who host the National Prayer Breakfast and expose their key role in promoting anti-gay sentiment in Uganda and across Africa.
- We plan to show that The Family, which hosts the seemingly innocuous National Prayer Breakfast, is not some benign organization. It is a divisive group with radical beliefs and has a scary agenda that would alarm most people.
- We hope our event will give people an alternative to the controversial and dubious National Prayer Breakfast
- The American Prayer Hour will show that cruelty and extremism does not represent people of faith. Through their actions, The Family is leading others to equate religion with intolerance and violence. We hope to offer a refreshing, alternative view of spirituality at The American Prayer Hour.
Is the American Prayer Hour a sectarian event?
The organizers of The American Prayer Hour respect religious pluralism and believe that a diversity of faith traditions is one of America’s greatest blessings. Our events are open to people of all faiths — or no faith at all. We welcome all individuals who passionately believe in human rights and express a desire to create a world that values peace over persecution.
What is the Anti-Homosexuality Bill?
Uganda is currently debating the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, put forth by parliamentarian David Bahati and backed by President Yoweri Museveni. If passed, the new law would unleash a viscous campaign of persecution against LGBT citizens. The penalties would include life imprisonment and in some cases death. The law would stifle free speech by threatening to jail Ugandans who are accused of “promoting homosexuality”. Parents and friends of LGBT people could spend up to three years in prison if they fail to turn them into authorities.
Why act now?
The Anti-Homosexuality bill is currently being debated in Uganda’s parliament. Our unified voice is all that may stand in the way of it passing. We must do everything in our collective power to stop this vicious witch-hunt in its tracks. It is crucial we act now to maximize and leverage international pressure on the Museveni regime and highlight the role America’s Evangelical enablers played in fomenting homophobia in Africa.
How is The Family implicated in Uganda’s Anti-Gay bill?
“The Family” is the most prominent American anti-gay organization tied to Uganda. Both David Bahati and President Yoweri Museveni are prominent members. For the unacquainted, The Family is a secretive worldwide organization made up of powerful business and political elites with the goal of transforming the world in its socially conservative image.
For more information, see NPR’s story “The Secret Political Reach of ‘The Family’”
What does The National Prayer Breakfast have to do with the situation in Uganda?
The Family hosts the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. World leaders, foreign dignitaries and members of Congress attend this event, giving The Family credibility and the veneer of respectability. The Family uses this event to bolster its standing, close business deals, and induct new members. The organization’s goal is to recruit “key men” who will mold 180 nations into fundamentalist strongholds to surround Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. Uganda has become its testing ground and that is why we see the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009.