North Fulton Rotary - Past Breakfast History

When the Rotary Club of North Fulton was chartered in January, 2000, Club members searched for a signature community service project that would reflect the Rotary motto of "Service Above Self," and would make a significant impact on the community. The Club chose to sponsor an annual event calling North Atlanta to prayer.

The choice might surprise some because although Rotary International promotes high ethical standards, it is not a religious organization. It does not promote any one religion, and virtually all religious persuasions are represented among its 1.2 million members in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. And some might maintain that prayer exercised in a general, interfaith sort of way must of necessity be tepid and ineffective.

Yet the members of the Rotary Club of North Fulton felt the best service we might provide the North Atlanta area would be, once a year, to call all of us to dependence on God, to reliance upon the Power who has blessed each one of us beyond measure. We share the convictions of Pope Pius XII that "Man is great only when he is kneeling", and of Abraham Lincoln when he declared, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."

Called the North Atlanta Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, this is a not a fundraising event. The first prayer breakfast was held in 2001 at the Atlanta Athletic Club with Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, as the keynote speaker. This event involves several different faiths, each presenting a short prayer, reading, chant, song, or other presentation, and is always held on or near the National Day of Prayer, the first Thursday in May.

The goal of the North Atlanta Interfaith Prayer Breakfast is to reach people, particularly in the business community, within the entire North Fulton county area. Planning for each prayer breakfast begins over a year prior to the event. The purpose of the prayer breakfast is to provide a forum to celebrate and honor America's National Day of Prayer. The objective is to pray for all in authority. The strategy is to use the occasion as an interfaith prayer breakfast event.

These types of events have shown to be highly effective in reaching into our community and impact our leaders. They create a desire for citizens to become involved and also to remind us of our country's spiritual heritage. As an interdenominational celebration held early in the morning, the North Atlanta Interfaith Prayer Breakfast has an emphasis on the spirituality that is an important part of everyday business and relationships.

The speakers and themes of the Club's past prayer breakfasts are:

YEAR SPEAKER AFFILIATION THEME

2001 Millard Fuller Founder of Habitat for Humanity “America United Under God”

2003 Mark Richt Head Football Coach, University of Georgia “One Nation Under God”; “Righteousness Exalts a Nation”

2004 Dr. Fred Craddock Retired Emory University Religion Scholar “Let Freedom Ring”

2005 Chan Gailey Head Football Coach, Georgia Institute of Technology “God Shed His Grace on Thee”

2006 Bishop L. Bevel Jones Emory University, Candler School of Theology “America, Honor God”

2007 Bill Curry Former NFL Player and ESPN Commentator “America Unite in Prayer”

2008 Dr. Betty Siegel Former President, Kennesaw University “Prayer! America’s Strength and Shield”

2009 Kathryn Richt “1st Lady of Georgia Football”
“Prayer … America’s Hope”

2010 Ken Johnson Former NFL Player “Prayer for Such a Time as This”