National Morning Prayers: From Mother Teresa to Hashim Thaci

National Morning Prayers are held each year in Washington D.C., usually on the first Thursday of February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide, an immigrant from Norway who was dedicated to addressing the issues of poverty and wanted to gather leaders to pray before doing the job.

Usually over three thousand five guests from 100 different countries are participating in these events. The event is hosted by members of the United States Congress, or rather, in their name by the Flowship Foundation”, a Christian organization.

It is designed in that way to serve as a kind of forum for political, social and business elites.

Every American president from Dwight D. Eisenhower attended this annual event.

Usually two people talk in the morning. The president of the United States is the first, and the other is discovered only on the morning prayer day. Among the speakers was Mother Teresa (1994), Irish singer Bono (2006), former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (2009) and former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Zapatero (2010).

While Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, was among the guests, who has participated in more than one case. Then, there were also King Abdullah II of Jordan, and various musicians like Andrea Bocelli, Wintley Phipps, etc.

On February 8, 2018, these prayers will be held in Washington Hilton in Washington, DC for the 66th year. Attending these prayers is only possible by invitation. But if people have an interest in going, they have to contact congressmen and senators.

This year's invitation to participate in the Morning National Prayer has been received by Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj. Whether these two had expressed interest in participating is unknown. Thaci, questioned by reporters Sunday, said he did not receive an invitation, but in the evening gave the opposite answer, which suggests he was interested in the event.