BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Struggling to confront a worsening homicide rate, the mayor invited pastors and citizens to don burlap sacks and ashes in a sign of biblical repentance.
Mayor Larry Langford said his "sackcloth and ashes" rally April 25 was inspired by the Book of Jonah, where residents of the ancient city of Nineveh wore rough fabric and ashes as a sign of turning away from sin. More than 1,000 people attended at a local auditorium.
So far this year 27 people have been killed in Birmingham, compared to 19 at the same time last year.
Since he took office last year, Langford has held three prayer rallies to fight crime and violence. Bibles were handed out at one of the events.
"This city needs to humble itself," Langford said.
Olivia Turner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Alabama, said the group has received complaints about the events and has been discussing them.
"The worry I have is that there's a government endorsement of religion," said lawyer Bill Messer, a state ACLU board member. "Certainly, the mayor has a right like anyone else to express his personal religious beliefs. As mayor, acting on behalf of the city, religion should not become part of the government itself. If it's an official government event, that's troubling."
Police Chief A.C. Roper, who is also a minister, supports the repentance rally, but said law enforcement cannot stop there.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The Lord God in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is speaking to HIS CHILDREN! All His children, not just the "Pastor"s. Let us humbly each one of us, "children of God" those who call upon His Name, let us humble ourselves, and repent of the evil we have done in His sight, HE is HOLY and HE is calling us to be Holy...HE through Jesus Christ, makes us Holy! Let us repent before the LORD GOD and we shall see HIS manifest HOLY PRESENCE BACK IN OUR NATION!!
HE is already HERE, but HE longs to be closer to each one of us in an intimate relationship and so many only seek the gifts and not the Giver! I am so hungry for GOD that I no longer seek His gifts...I WANT MORE OF GOD!!!! and HE is waiting for each one of us to CHASE after HIM!!!!
I"m reading a great book, "God Chaser" by Tommy Tenney...I highly recommend this book!!!!! It's not about playing "church" we are living in a time when GOD is seeking those who worship HIM in Spirit and in Truth.....I pray each one will reexamine their own walk with the LORD GOD and count the COST of what it means to truly walk with God! He wants to walk with us as He walked in the cool of the garden with Adam and Eve...and thanks be to JESUS....we can do that!
inthebeloved: AMEN and AMEN!!!!! Let it begin with us and may it spread around our Nation and out to the WORLD>...the GLORY OF THE LORD! SEEK HIS FACE!!!
Glory to You Lord!!
Leave it to the ACLU to be worried about religion when people are dying in the streets.
Kind of reminds me of their fear of the ten comendments being displayed in schools actually causing psychological trauma. Or worse yet actually be obeyed, imagine that.
God bless Mayor Larry Langford and the Chief of Police for knowing who to go to when their town is in trouble!!!! THANK YOU LORD!!
The ACLU is a group that I am praying for! May the LORD open their eyes to see what they are clearly doing in Jesus Name!
COME AND BRING REPENTANCE AND HEALING LOVE TO OUR NATION LORD GOD!
The Body of Christ is being drawn into closer unity as the DAY of the LORD draws nearer, and we need to be BOLD in our standing for our FAITH..."speaking the truth in love" and remembering that our Enemy is not FLESH AND BLOOD, but the princes of darkness, and we stand with JESUS CHRIST and we take Authority in HIS NAME!!!! Bind those forces Lord JESUS, come and REDEEM AMERICA and led us into Revival Holy Spirit that will rock this world!
May YOUR GLORY fill the earth LORD GOD! In Jeus name and for HIS GLORY! Hallelujah!!!
BLESS ISRAEL FATHER to KNOW MESSIAH!!!
The ACLU likes to attack God's people. The ACLJ likes to defend, in the court of law, God's people.
www.ACLJ.org (The Anti-ACLU)
I agree 100pct with the Mayor and I believe all the USA should do the same. Thereason of the condition we are is due to our sins and our sins has gone beyong Sodoma and Gomorrah. If we follow our forfathers the constitution of the USA on the dignity of the individual, freedom of speech and of course respect and love of our neighbor God will bless us as you will never see before but before we need to repent and do penance. Thanks Mayor I am proud of you!.
Go Mayor! I'm impressed. We need to pray against the ACLU. I
inthebeloved
Re:"This city needs to humble itself," Langford said.
yes...this entire nation needs to humble itself.
Agreed!
Re:I can only imagine what would happen if the people of this country, as one, humbled themselves and repented.
If the Pastors of our nation would heed the Word of God ( 2 Chr 7:14) in their own lives and then stood in their pulpits Sunday and preached repentance and godly living we could experience as individuals and as a nation 2 Chron 7:14.
2 Chronicles 7:14 - "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
"This city needs to humble itself," Langford said.
yes...this entire nation needs to humble itself.
I can only imagine what would happen if the people of this country, as one, humbled themselves and repented.
How is this different than all 50 governors declaring a national day of prayer? I don't understand.
It's hard to imagine that groups like that can be allowed to be part of a civilised society. It's like the Ku Klux Klan or an anti-semitist movement. Would American society accept an AMLU - ANTI MUSLIM LIBERAL UNION? Or AHLU - ANTI HINDUISM LIBERAL UNION? One has to ask why it is that when Christianity is the target, no one speaks out against such blatant abuse of rights and freedoms. Are these anti-Christian groups Muslims, atheists or satanists or a combination of these three. American Christians have a lot of enemies within! Watch your backs good people. We are praying for you and you are not alone.
The ACLU really stands for ANTI CHRISTIAN LIBERAL UNION