“I didn’t sign up for that”
There was a (small) controversy at an annual National Day of Prayer breakfast in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, when the keynote speaker turned out to be a Baha’i. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
A rumored boycott because the keynote speaker wasn’t talking about the Christian faith didn’t happen - except for the two tables canceled by Tom Hughes, who also canceled his emcee duties.
About a week ago, Hughes and others noted that the main speaker for the prayer breakfast was going to be Billie Mayo, an award-winning educator who has worked for social justice for years. She’s also a member of the Bahai faith, and her topic at the breakfast speech was the tenets of her religion.
Hughes said he was “surprised and shocked.” He said he had nothing against the Bahai faith or the woman chosen to deliver the message at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, “but I didn’t sign up for that. Traditionally, this has been a Christian prayer breakfast. This would have been my eighth year as emcee. … One of the reasons I’ve liked it so much is people give testimony about the difference Christ has made in their lives. If I could get just one other person to accept Jesus Christ into their life at an event like this, then that’s why I’m there … to bear witness to my faith.”
Hughes added, “I just felt uncomfortable with this.”
The piece goes on to talk about Mayo’s presentation in glowing terms:
Mayo said that “for us as Bahais, we believe wholeheartedly that we are connected and that we actually are as close to one another as we are to our life’s veins.”
The prophet founder of the faith was “Baha’u'llah, who reaffirmed the message from Jesus Christ that we are spiritual beings and that we are being impelled forward by our steadily deepening relationship with the Creator.”
She said, “Our spiritual and primary purpose of life as Bahais is to know and love God, and to contribute to an ever-advancing global civilization. The Bahai writings stress the importance of daily prayer and meditation, strong family and marriage ties, regular community worship and efforts to serve the world at large.”
Pretty solid stuff, eh?
I’m pretty sure the Christians in attendance didn’t feel threatened.