Day of Prayer
They annually invite people around the world to pray for Jerusalem on the first Sunday of every October, close to the time of Yom Kippur.
Held in August 1806, this is viewed by many scholars as the seminal event for the development of Protestant Missions in the subsequent decades and centuries.
On a hot summer day, a few Williams College students gathered in a field to discuss the spiritual welfare of the people of Asia.
When a thunderstorm developed over the field, the students took refuge in the lee of a large haystack and continued their prayer meeting, hence the title.
[4][5] The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is observed by many Christian denominations, with over 100,000 congregations honoring the holiday worldwide.
Also included were Christian evangelists Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson, along with denominational leaders from Europe, Africa, South America and Asia.
Pope John Paul II organized the first World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Italy, on October 27, 1986.
Some 200 other religious leaders were present, including Roman Catholic cardinals, Muslim clerics, Jewish rabbis, Buddhists, Sikhs, Baháʼís, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and members of African traditional religions.
Following the Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Assisi event intended to discourage making religion a motive for conflict in the 21st century.
Benedict felt that, while such gatherings are good, one cannot give the impression – even externally, interpreted by others – that theological differences have been reduced or are not consequential.
In 1996 Chief Looking Horse led a Unity Ride of Bigfoot Riders from the Wahpeton Dakota Reservation, Saskatchewan to Grey Horn Butte (He Hota Paha) Wyoming, called Devils Tower on current maps.
Over the past sixteen years the event has been hosted in Ireland (2001), Durban, South Africa (2002), Australia (2003) and Japan (2004).
The Wolakota Youth Council embarked on a large-scale project called Prayer Run for World Peace 2005.
Los Angeles, CA in the west, Manitoba, Canada in the north, Long Island, New York in the east and the southern group from Mexico and El Paso, TX.
2010: The fifteenth year of World Peace and Prayer Day was held at the Burgundy Brook Farm in Palmer, MA.
