c. 1997 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _”This is church,”the Rev. Dale Schlafer said Friday (Oct. 3).”This is a big prayer meeting … of men who love Christ who are saying to him, `Forgive us for having failed you, Lord Jesus.'” Schlafer, director of Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly, made his comments as thousands of Christian men poured into Washington and as workers and participants prepared physically and spiritually for the event Saturday on the National Mall.

On the grassy area closest to the massive stage, men sat or kneeled in circles of prayer as workers positioned speakers for the gathering sponsored by Promise Keepers, the evangelical Christian men’s movement.

And if estimates by local and federal officials hold up, Promise Keepers, started just seven years ago by former University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, could find itself sponsoring the largest-ever religious gathering in Washington.

Hundreds of thousands of men are expected in Washington to begin or continue their commitments to their churches and their families during the event.

The six hours of prayer, worship and speeches will begin with the blowing of the shofar, a ram’s horn traditionally used in Jewish worship, and end with a videotaped speech by evangelist Billy Graham and an in-person challenge from McCartney.

Organizers, though busy with last-minute details, also are looking ahead.

Sounding what has become something of a mantra for Promise Keepers staff, Pete Richardson, Stand in the Gap program director, said the ministry’s next aim is that”every local church in America would have a vibrant men’s ministry committed to vital prayer networks that practice intentional reconciliation.” Schlafer and others predict the Mall will be filled with people representing Christianity’s racial, ethnic and theological diversity.”We really can’t do anything about society, but we can as Christians do something about the church of Jesus Christ,”he said.”We cannot allow the abomination of racial division to continue in the church.” The range of scheduled participants includes members of Congress _ there, spokespeople say, for religious, not political reasons _ Christian motorcyclists, and men who have traveled in more than 175 chartered jets. More than 50,000 volunteers will contribute to the efforts, according to Promise Keepers officials.

Planners of the event, which is expected to cost about $9 million, say they are focused more on things spiritual than the specific number of people who will attend.”We’re expecting one person to show up and that’s our Lord Jesus Christ,”said Ed Barron, the logistical liaison for Stand in the Gap.

Schlafer said the group of about 45 speakers expected to address the crowd met together in July and concluded they wanted to be”a nameless and a faceless team.” Thus, most speakers will not be introduced and their names will merely flash across the 12 large video screens that have been placed along the Mall between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument.”The emphasis this day is on the Lord Jesus Christ and we’re doing everything we can to get ourselves out of the way,”Schlafer said.

Along the Mall are 18 tepees, which are simultaneously a place for prayer and an intentional sign of Promise Keepers’ push for diversity. Some of the volunteers will distribute 1 million commemorative New Testaments published by the American Bible Society.

Many participants fasted beforehand _ including 40-day fasts by some platform speakers _ and others walked through the streets of Washington praying for the city and the nation. Others arrived by busloads Friday to help repair a junior high school in Washington’s troubled public-school district. Still others filled Washington’s museums and subways and spent a day being tourists before turning to the more solemn aspects of Saturday’s event.

As the men gather on the Mall, critics _ including the National Organization for Women and American Atheists _ and supporters have staked out places in the vicinity to let their views be known.

In addition to the throngs expected on the Mall, others will participate long-distance, listening to the program on radio or watching it on television or via satellite links. C-Span is scheduled to provide six hours of live coverage starting around noon.”For the first time in Promise Keepers’ history, women all across the country can see for themselves what Promise Keepers is all about,”said Mark DeMoss, spokesman for Stand in the Gap.

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