President Bush and the governors of all 50 states issued proclamations urging Americans to pray today for the nation and its leaders.

Bush's proclamation asks Americans to pray "each according to his or her own faith, for the freedom and blessings we have received and for God's continued guidance and protection."

The proclamation also says "we pray especially for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who are serving around the world to defend the cause of liberty."

S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford will read a proclamation and lead a group in prayer at noon today on the steps of the Capitol in Columbia. His proclamation includes the statement that the National Day of Prayer "transcends differences, bringing together citizens from all backgrounds and faiths to pray for wisdom, guidance and protection."

In Summerville, a rally starts at noon at the Veteran's Memorial Monument in front of the County Services Building on Main Street.

That was the only public rally in the Charleston area listed on the National Day of Prayer's Web site, and phone calls to several local prayer leaders failed to turn up any others. A number of local churches will hold prayer services at noon or in the evening.

Congress established an annual National Day of Prayer in 1952 by a joint resolution signed by President Truman. In 1988, President Reagan set the day as the first Thursday of every May.

While the occasion sounds like something almost everybody can agree on, some are objecting that the most visible events are coordinated by a National Day of Prayer Task Force that airs only the voices of conservative Christians.

For example, Americans United for Church and State objects to what appears to be government sponsorship of the Christian Right's view of a "Christian nation."

"These events are carefully managed to give the general public the impression that the government has endorsed the Religious Right's religious and political viewpoint," Americans United Executive Director Barry Lynn said in a statement issued earlier this week. "It's exactly the opposite of what our nation's founders intended."

A four-hour prayer rally is planned today in the Cannon Office Building in Washington, D.C., with representatives from every branch of the government expected. The main speaker is retired Marine Col. Oliver North, now a conservative talk-show host and author.

The task force that coordinated the national rally and issues guidelines for local events is led by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder and conservative political activist James Dobson.

On the National Day of Prayer Web site, Americans are urged to take a minute to voice a prayer that includes: "Lord, bless our military as it advances freedom's cause around the world. Bless also the institutions of power and influence in our society -- the government, the churches, the media, the schools and the families."

Elsewhere on the Web site, public schools are characterized as "promoting a radical social agenda" rather than the "Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was founded."

The media is labeled as "what is often an environment hostile to those who voice their belief in Christ."

A local coordinator finds the criticism unwarranted.

"We are basically a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles," said Patricia Smith, who coordinated today's rally in Summerville. "The moral law is based on the Ten Commandments. We take it very seriously that we would continue in that tradition to pray to God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We welcome other faiths, but this is definitely a Christian event."

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