GARDEN GROVE : Church Starts Prayer Program for Somalia

Each Sunday, thousands of worshipers at Crystal Cathedral start off services with prayers for American troops serving in Somalia and the people the GIs are trying to save from starvation.

The prayers are part of Operation Desert Prayer, which was launched by anxious church members whose sons and daughters participated in military action against Iraq in the Persian Gulf.

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder and senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, initiated the Somalia prayers on Dec. 6 on the church’s “Hour of Power” television program, which is seen in every major city in the United States and 33 other nations.

“I am very proud of our country for giving leadership to the world and moving into a place where there is total anarchy,” Schuller said in the prayer.

” . . . Through the young men and women who will be there in the uniform of the United States of America, may it be that people who are dying be spared from death. And may they look into the eyes of people in these strange uniforms . . . and experience tender, caring, compassionate love for the first time in their lives.”

Church spokesman Michael Nason said the deployment of Americans may be particularly meaningful to the congregation because the troops are engaged “in a real humanitarian effort at great sacrifice” during the Christmas season.

The fact that many of the troops have departed from Southern California bases also is believed to be motivating the congregation’s concern.

The Somalia prayers are offered at the beginning of each Sunday service at 8:30, 9:30 and 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. About 8,500 people attend the four services, Nason said.

The Prayer Chapel also is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for individual prayers.