To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - New Age leaders call for millennium wave of prayer
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 08:15:18 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

New Age leaders call for millennium wave of prayer

October 29, 1999

By Sarah Tippit

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Leaders of the "New Age" spiritual
development movement are calling for "wave" of prayer around the
world on New Year's Eve -- with prayers spoken, sung, chanted or
even typed into the electronic realm of Cyberspace.

Best-selling author James Redfield, whose "Celestine Prophesy"
series created numerous spiritual support groups, says the aim
of the mass prayer is to do nothing less than "heal the world."

Redfield, in a telephone interview with Reuters on Friday, said
he hopes the moment of prayer that he and other spiritually
concerned people are calling for will turn into the biggest
ecumenical prayer vigil ever.

"We're calling for a moment of prayer for the new millennium
right before that millennium arrives," he said, adding:

"In the last moments of 1999, just as everybody focuses on the
clock no matter where they are, we're just asking that everybody
join with everyone else and pray in their own way for a better
world in the next century and millennium, for an increase in
peace and freedom, and a general uplifting in the human race."

The new millennium does not actually begin until Jan. 1, 2001
but most of the globe is intent on marking its arrival a year
earlier, with a raft of celebrations planned around the world to
welcome in 2000.

Redfield said the worldwide call for a global moment of prayer
would begin Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m. in the South Pacific and roll
across the Earth as people welcome in the new millennium,
Redfield said.

"Every hour a new group in their time zone will hold a moment
of prayer. There will be a wave of prayer that encircles the
globe," Redfield said. "It's a way to connect everybody with
everyone else in their time zone."

Celebrities such as actor LeVar Burton and Marianne Williamson,
the founder of Detroit-based Church of Today will lead prayer
groups at various spots around the country which will be
broadcast live on the Internet via Redfield's Web site,
www.celestinevison.com. Burton will be broadcasting live from
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Redfield said.

From next Monday, the site will also contain information and
chat rooms relating to the vigil, Redfield said. People will be
asked to download flyers from the site to pass to friends and
family members who want to participate in the worldwide prayer.

"The opportunity to envelop the planet in a blanket of prayer,
has the power to literally intercept the processes of history.
We can interrupt the fear-based mind-set that literally
threatens the human race," Williamson told Reuters.

"A moment of powerful prayer when millions of people are
already in a state of hope and expectation could literally tip
the scales toward a more compassionate future," she added.

Many celebrities and spiritual leaders are coming on board as
sponsors, said Redfield.

He is starting on Monday promotion of his newest book, "The
Secret of Shambhala," the third in a runaway bestselling series
of novels about an ongoing quest.

http://news.excite.com/news/r/991029/20/millennium-prayer

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - People Offer To Go Blind So Leader Can See
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 08:22:07 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

People Offer To Go Blind So Leader Can See

October 29, 1999

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Devoted followers of Indonesia's ailing new
President Abdurrahman Wahid are offering to donate their eyes to
restore the half-blind leader's vision, the Jakarta Post
reported on Friday.

The 59-year-old cleric, whose eyesight was damaged by a stroke
and cataract problems, cannot see well enough to read and must
be guided by aides when he moves about in public.

Some members of Wahid's Nation Awakening Party in the central
Java city of Yogyakarta offered Wahid their eyes if they were
suitable for a transplant, the newspaper reported.

An official from the country's largest Moslem group, which
Wahid also heads, urged the president to accept the offer.

"I praise and thank the prospective donors who want president
Abdurrahman Wahid to be able to carry out his daily duties
effectively," the Post quoted Imam Syafii, treasurer of the 40-
million strong Nahdlatul Ulama, as saying.

"Let's hope that the president will accept."

Wahid was elected last week by the People's Consultative
Assembly in the country's first ever contested presidential
vote. He succeeded B.J. Habibie.

http://news.excite.com/news/r/991029/09/odd-eyes

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