c. 1997 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ As participants in the Promise Keepers planned”Stand in the Gap”assembly began arriving here Thursday (Oct. 2), supporters and detractors were verbally lining up to either cheer them on or question their motives.

Officials of the men’s organization continue to maintain the free six-hour event Saturday (Oct. 4),”Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men,”is not a political one, but rather a time of prayer and repentance.

Along the National Mall, where the men will gather, workers strung cables and put huge video screens in place for a crowd U.S. Park Police expect will exceed 500,000. Portable toilets lined the stretch of lawn between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument, and Native American tepees _ one labeled”prayer tepee”_ were evenly spaced along the grassy areas.

Randy Phillips, the group’s president and the person who first envisioned the event, addressed the group’s intentions at a briefing Thursday.”We are not a political organization,”he said.”We are not politically motivated. We do not have any political goals.” Noting that the evangelical Christian ministry has had ample opportunity to address political issues before thousands of men gathered in stadiums, Phillips added,”We really need to be written off as a failure if that’s our focus _ and it’s not.” Rather, Promise Keepers officials say they are focused on moral issues, including encouraging racial reconciliation.”If every Christian man established a committed relationship _ not a casual, but a committed relationship … with someone who is racially different than himself, we can change the world overnight,”said the Rev. Raleigh Washington, Promise Keepers’ vice president of reconciliation.

He said an average of 15 percent of men attending Promise Keepers’ rallies this year have been non-white, more than double the percentage attending in 1996.

But as the men gather, the voices of critics will also be heard.

The National Organization for Women plans to demonstrate nearby by displaying large posters with”inflammatory quotes”by Promise Keepers officials.”Make no mistake: the Promise Keepers are political,”said Patricia Ireland, NOW’s president.”And they aim to build a network of radical right religious activists whose goal is the submission of women to male authority.” In response, a grassroots movement of women who support Promise Keepers plan to gather near the Mall to oppose NOW’s efforts.”My group is going to be made up of wives and women around the area who support Promise Keepers and believe that the goals of Promise Keepers help women,”said Penny Nance, an Arlington, Va.-based lobbyist for the politically conservative Concerned Women for America, who is organizing the anti-protest protest by word of mouth.”We believe that women want Promise Keepers not promise breakers.” Among other supporters of Promise Keepers is the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian political group in Washington, which has mounted an extensive campaign to welcome the men to the nation’s capital. The campaign includes ads on Christian radio as well as ads in Washington’s Metro stations with slogans like”Promise Keepers: A Godly man stands tallest while he’s on his knees.””We’re doing it to support Promise Keepers,”said Loralei Gilliam, advertising manager for Family Research Council.”We’ve very excited about the event. … We’re hoping to introduce Family Research Council to the gentlemen in attendance.” Among other detractors, Equal Partners in Faith, a fledgling coalition of people from 40 religious groups, says it is determined to expose what it calls the movement’s”hidden political agenda”while at the same time advance the cause of religious and racial equality.

Equal Partners says Promise Keepers undermines the equality of women in family, church and society and promotes a right-wing political agenda under the guise of religion.”The ties between Promise Keepers leaders and the political religious right,”run deep, said the Rev. Meg A. Riley, a Unitarian activist and a founder of Equal Partners.

Equal Partners participants plan to stay away from the Mall on Saturday and, instead, gather at an Episcopal church miles from the rally.”We don’t want to protest,”Riley said,”but we want to provide a place for those who feel their interests are not represented by those who will gather on the Mall.” In addition to Promise Keepers from across the country, representatives of 62 other countries are expected at the event and will meet with ministry officials before returning home. More than 800 reporters are expected to cover the gathering.

But the crowd total may remain a mystery. Promise Keepers plans to neither predict nor announce a crowd estimate.”If you hear an attendance number, you didn’t hear it from Promise Keepers,”said Mark DeMoss, Stand in the Gap spokesman.

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