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Because it seems too symbolic and not real.

Our church didn't participate, but Katrina victims have been on the prayer list (email reminder list) since day 0. More importantly, folks are buying stuff, packing stuff, loading trucks, transporting stuff and getting group of 20 folks at a time to head down for several days to cut trees, etc.

You can't minister to the spiritual without ministering to the physical. Plain and simple.

Maybe it's an important point. When people feel they can help by doing work, perhaps the idea of stopping that work, even for a little bit, to sit and pray seems just a bit strange.

Our church had already had a special prayer service for Katrina prior to one announced nationally.

I went to one at First Presbyterian, where people where called together by sheer emotion, and not by presidential proclamation. I think that was an important distinction.

You think it's possible that many Americans understood that the "National Day of Prayer" was contrived and that most Americans had prayed, and continue to pray, for the destruction's survivors?

Dear Nancy,

We are praying everyday in our parish for the victims of Katrina. In addition, if viewers turn to Time Warner Channel 66, which is the global Catholic television station, they will see that our priests also remind us and/or offer special prayers for the victims of Hurricane Katrina everyday. I do not think the President's proclamation was at all contrived. I think he was very sincere and that he was following a lot of historical precedent on this.
It really does not matter what President Bush does because so many people have their minds closed when they view whatever the President does. Even if they felt the proclamation was contrived, why would this stop them from praying for the poor victims? I don't think the President was asking anyone to do this for him personally, he was only doing what he thought he should do. If he had not called for this, people would have criticized him for that. If President Bush cured AIDS, established peace throughout the Middle East, in Ireland, in Africa, and lifted every single American out of poverty, the Bush haters would still criticize him for some reason.
It is really sad that people spend so much of the brief time they have here on this earth hating someone whom most of us really do not even know personally. Most of us only know the President through what the media tells us and do not have a close personal relationship with the President, so when we hate him we are hating someone we do not even know.

Best,

Gay Davis