National Prayer Breakfast 2009

  • Published
  • By Chaplain Dave Logan
  • 14th Flying Training Wing
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- --  The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The first prayer breakfast groups within our federal government were initiated in 1942 in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Since then, those groups have continued their weekly meetings to discuss various spiritual needs and our nation's dependence on God.

In 1952, members of the Senate and the House prayer groups established the first Presidential Prayer Breakfast with President Dwight D. Eisenhower to seek divine guidance for the national leadership and to reaffirm our country's faith in and dependence upon God. In 1970, the name was changed to "The National Prayer Breakfast" to emphasize the purpose of the gathering rather than the individuals involved. 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 annual National Prayer Breakfast occurs every year after Congress convenes. Leaders in business, labor, education, and science from every state in the Union, as well as military leaders from each branch of service join the members from the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Although the political, economic, philosophical, and religious viewpoints represented are varied, the result is a fellowship of concerned citizens, dedicated to affirming the moral, ethical, and spiritual values upon which our nation was founded.

Columbus AFB will observe the National Prayer breakfast Feb. 5 at 7 a.m. with a buffet breakfast at the Columbus Club. The event will feature an interfaith program with a keynote address from Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) David Cyr, USAF Deputy Chief of Chaplains. Tickets are $3 each and can be purchased from your First Sergeant or through the chapel. For more information, contact Chaplain Dave Logan, Staff Sgt. Natalie Contino, or Senior Airman Melissa Free at the chapel, 434-2500.