The base community carried on a long-standing national tradition April 27 when they gathered at Club Five Six for Luke Air Force Base’s National Prayer Breakfast.
This annual event’s origin dates back to 1942 when members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives gathered during breakfast to pray for the nation. Today, it has grown to include a national event held in Washington, D.C. that is attended by the president. It also involves local events hosted by military and civil communities across the country.
The interfaith gathering is an opportunity for participants from various faiths to reflect and reaffirm the moral and spiritual values on which the United States was founded.
“The National Prayer Breakfast gives us a chance to step back for a moment, to come together as brothers and sisters and seek God’s face together,†said President Barack Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. “At a time when it’s easy to lose ourselves in the rush and clamor of our own lives, or get caught up in the noise and rancor that too often passes as politics today, these moments of prayer slow us down.â€
The theme for Luke’s prayer breakfast was “Naval Criminal Investigative Service Investigates Prayer,†and included readings from spiritual leaders from the Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths.
Air Education and Training Command Deputy Command Chaplain (Col.) Cherri Wheeler served as the keynote speaker.
“Prayer is an incredible gift we are given to communicate with our God and to receive divine direction,†Wheeler said. “We need to exercise our right to use it when and where we want, yet with sensitivity to the Airmen around us who may not share our beliefs or appreciate this gift.â€
