Interfaith group has 'inclusive' service

PROVO — After opting out of a National Day of Prayer Task Force prayer service earlier this month, the Utah Valley Interfaith Association held its prayer service Thursday night, with around 50 people in attendance and members of at least 10 different faiths leading services.

The interfaith association decided not to participate in the task force service on the National Day of Prayer after learning that non-evangelicals — including LDS Church members, Jews and Catholics — would not be allowed to lead services.

But the members of the interfaith association aren't holding any grudges.

"There are no hard feelings from my point of view, and I hope there aren't from theirs," said Linda Walton, the association's secretary and a chaplain at Utah Valley State College. "The service isn't intended to be at all confrontational."

No mention of the earlier service was made at Thursday's event. The service included four prayers, including one for Utah Valley and one for the nation. Participants also read quotes from American leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Walton said the group tried to make its service as inclusive as possible. Latter-day Saints were among the participants.

"We e-mailed the 35-40 different faiths listed in our Utah County directory and invited them all to participate," she said.

Walton said her only issue with the task force is communication.

"They have a right to do what they do, just as we do," she said. "But they need to communicate better. They're not a national group, and that wasn't communicated."

At the prayer service earlier this month, Greg Johnson, Utah state coordinator for the task force, agreed that communication could have been better.

"Maybe it's not as clear as it should be (that the task force represents an evangelical expression)," Johnson said. "Our events are definitely open to all people, but those that are leading out in the prayer are expressing our own evangelical tradition."

Johnson said it wasn't necessary for the interfaith group to move their service this year.

"I told (Walton) this year, I didn't feel like she needed to hold it another day," he said.