PRAYER FILLS DE CARLI WATERFRONT PLAZA
Written by Anna Kaplan

May 5--Beth Lambdin closed her eyes and raised her hands heavenward in the noontime sunshine at Dean De Carli Waterfront Square as she prayed with more than 100 people gathered downtown to celebrate the National Day of Prayer on Thursday.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the annual event, which was created by a joint resolution of Congress in the 1950s and promoted by subsequent U.S. presidents.

The Stockton event was open to the public and featured a panel of local religious figures leading the audience in prayer. It was organized by KYCC Radio.

Lambdin said she attends the public prayers annually. Her youngest daughter, 3-year-old Joy, was more interested in climbing railings than praying, but Lambdin said it was important to bring the girl to the annual event.

"I want them (my children) to know the importance of community, not just having your faith in your home," she said.

Lambdin wasn't the only one inspired to attend the prayer meeting by a desire to connect with other believers and share her faith.

"There's unity and power when people come together and pray," said Holli Sophus, another Stockton resident who attended the lunch-time event.

The prayers that local pastors said at De Carli Square reflected this national focus as they asked God to bless the city of Stockton, the United States and humanity in general.

"For some reason, the whole world wants to come to America, and we believe it's for more than prosperity," said Steve Scott, a pastor at First Nazarene Church in Stockton.

The National Day of Prayer "started at the White House, so for us to pray for our leaders is necessary. They need our prayers," said Adam Biddell, KYCC's operations manager.

Biddell said he counted 160 people praying in the square at noon, when the event started, but more showed up during the next hour.

There were thousands of events like this throughout the country, some as large as the gatherings at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, which have packed in more than 10,000 annually.

But not all share the belief in prayer. Several members of the Humanist Association of the Greater Sacramento Area went to donate blood instead, according to the group's president, Bill Potts. The group is a membership chapter of the American Humanist Association, which champions the National Day of Reason as an alternative to the National Day of Prayer.

"The government has no right to declare any religious day," Potts said. "It gives the religious a sense of entitlement."

Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Stockton, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.