On a cold, crisp Ottawa morning, a crowd of approximately 2,000 packed Rogers Centre in the shadow of Parliament Hill today to celebrate Canada’s Christian heritage and to pray together for unity in a divided world.  

This was the 60th edition of the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event held to unite political and faith leaders and the national community in prayer.

 A powerful reminder that faith and Christian values continue to play a part in Canada’s public life, the event was attended by a number of distinguished guests, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, as well as representatives of various Christian denominations and other faith traditions, diplomats and ordinary citizens.

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The program, with its theme “You are not alone,” was a medley of prayers, songs, Bible readings and reflections by several distinguished speakers.

Quoting the Gospel of St. Matthew (1:23), which announces the birth of Jesus in fulfillment to God’s promise, Carney said: “God gave us His Son, which was an act of generosity.” He went on to describe generosity as a distinguishing characteristic of Canadians. 

“In the Christian tradition, generosity is not an original act,” he said. “We give generosity because we receive it in the form of charism, which is a gift from God. The presence of so many of us in this room means we have received charism.” (According to Catholic teaching, charism is a spiritual gift of grace given by God to individuals and communities to enable them to serve the common good.) 

The gift should empower us to lead a life of purpose, fairness, service and caring for others, he added.

Poilievre spoke on the theme of accountability. Quoting from the Book of Hebrews which speaks of a “cloud of witnesses,” he said political leaders should be accountable for their actions to the people they represent. He added that each of us is ultimately accountable to God for the choices we make in life.

The keynote speaker was football legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons. The Canadian football Hall of Famer and general manager of the Toronto Argonauts urged the audience to read a few chapters of the Bible each day.

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“When we read the Scripture, we are not alone,” he said. “We live in a world where social media disconnects rather than connects us to people. We need to disconnect from social media and connect with people.”

 Recounting how he grew up in Florida, he said his mother was his hero and she had brought him up as a person of faith. He was also inspired by the example of Martin Luther King who said “love is power at its best.” King and his wife, Coretta, wanted to dive deeper into the Bible story of the good Samaritan. They wondered why the Samaritan stopped to help the man who was robbed and beaten and left by the roadside to die, while others passed by and ignored him.

“They found that the road in the story is long, winding and hazardous, so the people who didn’t stop to help were doing it for self-preservation reasons,” he said. “The man who did stop asked himself what would happen to the victim of the robbery if he didn’t help.”

Clemons exhorted the audience to make sure our sisters and brothers are not alone and to reach out to help people in need.

“We live in very challenging times,” he said. “I’m an American by birth, but Canadian by choice. I’m happy to be a citizen of the planet. They (Americans) need a friend too. I want us to stop the name-calling. Every being on Earth is our ally. Let’s love and respect each other regardless of boundaries. That’s what God intended us to do.”

Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, paid a tribute to MP Richard Bragdon for his leadership role, not only in coordinating the National Prayer Breakfast but also the prayer group that meets each Wednesday before the parties hold their weekly caucus meetings. 

“At these prayer breakfasts, we are a family, regardless of partisanship,” she said.

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The National Prayer Breakfast of Canada was founded in 1964 as one of the first national prayer breakfasts in the world. Among its original leaders were Walter Dinsdale of Manitoba and Robert Thompson of Alberta. The first event was addressed by Prime Minister Lester Pearson. Sixty years later, Members of Parliament, Senators and a group of political staffers volunteer their time to organize the breakfast, a leadership dinner and a summit for young Christian leaders from across the country.