Christians flock to Washington to pray for America to turn to God — by electing Trump
Conservative organizers of the “Million Women” worship rally billed the event — and the November election — as “a last stand moment” to save the nation from satanic forces.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to pray for America’s atonement and for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Organizers of the event, billed “A Million Women,” described the gathering — and next month’s presidential election — as “a last stand moment” to save the nation from forces of darkness. For hours, the gathered masses sang worship songs, waved flags symbolizing their belief that America was founded as an explicitly Christian nation and prayed aloud for Jesus to intercede on behalf of Trump in November.
A conservative Christian gathering on the National Mall Saturday aims to bring together anti-LGTBQ, anti-abortion, and QAnon activists.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Calls for atonement today on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. – not to mark Yom Kippur, but calls by Christian leaders urging what they call Esthers to make amends. We’re going to turn now to NPR domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef. Odette, thanks so much for joining us.
ODETTE YOUSEF, BYLINE: Sure thing.
SIMON: The organizer of this event called for a million women to gather at the Mall. How do they use the term Esthers? What’s that?
YOUSEF: So to understand this, we have to look to the Hebrew Bible. This is a reference to the Book of Esthers, which tells the story set in the fifth century BCE of Esther, the Jewish wife of the Persian king. And according to this story, Esther became aware that one of the King’s courtiers was organizing a pogrom against the Jews. And she’s urged by her relative, a man named Mordecai to use her position of influence to thwart that plot, and she does. So today’s rally is happening on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and it’s calling on Christian women, the Esthers, and the men in their lives, the Mordecais, to fast and pray and gather on the Mall for the deliverance of the nation. And really, Scott, this is the national culmination of dozens of state-based rallies that were held back in the spring at state capitals under the tagline, don’t mess with our kids. And those had attendance that ranged from the hundreds to the thousands.
SIMON: And what do they want to communicate with that slogan – don’t mess with our kids?