TheCall (organization)

TheCall D.C. August, 2008

TheCall is an organization which sponsors prayer meetings led by Lou Engle along with other Christian leaders pastors in the United States. The meetings request prayer and fasting by Christians in protest against issues such as same-sex marriage and legal access to elective abortion. TheCall has drawn support from American Evangelical leaders, but has also been criticized for intolerance.

Events

Originally planned as a co-ed youth version of Promise Keepers,[1] TheCall hosts 12-hour or 24-hour events which combine prayer, sermons, and Christian rock worship and gospel music. The events are also known for their cultural and ethnic diversity, described in National Review as "the Breakfast Club of religious gatherings."[1] Speakers at TheCall events frequently draw parallels between the pro-life movement and the American Civil Rights Movement. TheCall is meant to be a gathering of fasting and prayer to confess personal and national sins, to pray for God’s blessing on the nation, and for spiritual awakening among youth.[2] Personal and national repentance among Christians and prayer for spiritual awakening has been the core focus of TheCall since its inception. Much of the events are devoted to prayer and sermons against abortion and homosexuality.[1] TheCall events has been attended by prominent evangelical leaders such as Mike Huckabee, James Dobson, and Tony Perkins. Engle believes that gatherings such as TheCall are necessary to prevent Divine judgment from taking place in the United States due to legalized abortion and the acceptance of homosexuality in American culture.[3]

Uganda Controversy

On May 2, 2010, Engle traveled to Uganda and organized a TheCall Rally at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Before the trip he condemned the harsh penalties proposed in a bill that called for life imprisonment or the death penalty for Ugandan homosexuals with AIDS who engage in sexual relations, saying his ministry could not support it.[4] Engle later said the church should examine its own sins and oppose violence against homosexuals, but he did not reject the criminalization of homosexuality.[5]

Gatherings

References

External links

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