A prayer that made
some uncomfortable

Effective prayers sometimes make some people uncomfortable.

The prayer below, e-mailed to me by a friend who asked not to be identified, was made by Minister Joe Wright of the Central Christian Church of Kansas during the opening of its new Senate.

A number of legislators walked out in protest during the prayer and in 6 short weeks it logged 5,000 phone calls and only 47 were in disagreement. All over the world people asked the Church for copies of the prayer.

In this political turbulent period of our history, we want to share it with every one. We believe quarrels cannot heal a nation. Only prayers can with good effective prayers. Here's that prayer:

* * *

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance! We know Your Word says “Woe to those who call evil good, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

“We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

“We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

“We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

“We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

* * *

“We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

“We have abused power and called it politics.

“We have coveted our neighbor's possession and called it ambition.

“We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

“We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

“Search us, Oh, God and know our hearts today. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen.” End of the prayer.

* * *

The Church activism of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin did not bring the best results. On the contrary corruption worsened.

If all Churches sit down and craft a common prayer for all Churches that will make the “enemies of society” uncomfortable, I believe these can make the difference.

Some of them may not go to Church any more. Good! If they do they are just hypocrites. They have long been. Our problem is some Church leaders are afraid to lose their heavy contributing parishioners but whose money comes from their stealing from the people.

* * *

The other e-mail I got when I went out of town were from Dr. Romana P. de los Reyes, Robert Leonard Strause, and architect Ramiro Esteban.

Ms. de los Reyes wrote me the latest price of coal in the world market was 116 US dollars to a metric ton.

When Ceneco signed a contract with Kepco-Salcon that placed the cost per kilowatt hour at P5.81 including the 12 percent VAT, the price of coal as the basis was $31 per metric ton. From 31 to 116 is nearly four times. And Kepco-Salcon has not yet built its plant.

This will mean some P20 per kilowatt hour for Ceneco consumers? Can we afford that? How much will it cost in 2011?

Another letter came from our avid reader Robert Leonard Strause who is worried with our many problems, from traffic to jeepney, to airport, to fertilizer scam and Jocjoc Bolante, to Hello Garci, to the safety of Jun Lozada…

Robert is an American and we can make him a hero if he can follow Jun Lozada by denouncing some irregularities in government to be able to bring change.

I hope my friend Bob Strause can take the challenge.

This is good that many are concerned with the Philippines . If Lozada is a “provincianong Intsik,” Bob Strause can be a “provincianong Cano.”

* * *

His concern for his hometown La Carlota never wanes with my friend, architect Raming Esteban.

Raming wrote me again to thank Ramon Alvañez for inviting him to visit La Carlota. He will but still waiting for the approval of the petition of Pinoys to extend medicare to US retirees living here.

He wants to help La Carlota and asked me, of the province's 12 cities outside of Bacolod how does La Carlota stand? I have not made that study and what is Raming's basis for rating. What I know is Kabankalan is the one operating most efficiently.

Many suggested that if Raming wants to help La Carlota he should not do it through advising. That is not welcome. If he can follow what other La Carlotaño, former La Carlota's city engineer who now lives in Carson City , Rudy Niere, it would be best.

Rudy comes home to La Carlota very often. He built a school by himself, sets up scholarship, all that he and wife Lettie spent has gone into millions of pesos already. Yet without fanfare.

This is what friends in La Carlota told me. “Tell Raming to come and bring his money here to help the poor. Forget advising Jeffrey Ferrer. He knows his job. He is paid to do that.”*

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