Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has declared Friday ’It’s Time to Pray Day,’ and he’s sponsoring a rather unusual worship service.
If you’re going to Birmingham, Ala., tomorrow, don’t forget to take your sackcloth and ashes!
Huh? Yes, that’s right. Take your sackcloth and ashes. Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has declared Friday “It’s Time to Pray Day,” and he’s sponsoring a rather unusual worship service at Boutwell Auditorium.
According to the Birmingham News, Langford announced at the city council meeting on Monday that he is dismayed by crime and other problems facing the city and he’s thinks it’s time to turn to prayer.
But not just any old prayer. Langford is going to sponsor prayers of repentance by folks dressed in sackcloth and ashes – just like they did in Old Testament days.
Comparing himself to the King of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah, Langford proclaimed April 25 a “day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes” and called on “all bishops, priests, pastors, ministers and all citizens of various denominations and creeds to join in.”
To make sure everyone has appropriate attire, the mayor has reportedly ordered 2,000 sacks. (Presumably, one size fits all.)
According to the News, Langford told the council, “Even if you get upset, we’re still going to have it. This city needs to humble itself.”
The newspaper said the mayor was joined by 18 ministers in announcing the time and venue of the service.
Among those expected to attend the service tomorrow is Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta. (Bishop Eddie, as you may know, is that paragon of moral and ethical virtue who is under investigation by Senate committee looking into possible misuse of church money for personal enrichment.)
At any rate, the Birmingham prayer rally has serious goals. The News reports that Langford admonished the pastors surrounding him and others not to attend the rally for spectacle, but for a religious experience.
“Do not come looking pretty,” he said. “If you’re too cute to put a little ash on your hands, stay home. If you’re too cute to pray, stay home.”
I’ve got a better idea. Langford should stay home, and he should read the Constitution of the United States. Government officials have no authority to meddle in religion, and he should repent of his unconstitutional activities.
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