250 Attend Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast

An eclectic group of clergy gathered here Wednesday to meet Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson at the 26th Annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.

More than 250 clergy members, city officials and community delegates came together for prayers, music and a keynote address by Johnson, the 1960 decathlon winner.

Owen Pinto, personal physician to Mother Teresa, was also on hand, collecting names and best wishes for the ailing nun. Pinto, who said he visits with Mother Teresa weekly either by phone or face to face, promised to deliver the messages.

In his speech, Johnson talked of his dedication to the Special Olympics and urged people to better themselves and their community through volunteerism.

Closing remarks by Bill Shane, executive director of the National Conference of Orange County, focused on the religious diversity of Garden Grove.

The prayer breakfast drew representatives of Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and the local Islamic and Sikh communities.

“It’s great to have the chance to see people who may not look, talk or pray like us,” Shane said.

Garden Grove is home to the Sikh Center of Orange County, the American Indian Unity Church, the Islamic Society of Orange County and the Zoroastrian Center.

“There is natural diversity in our churches and a wide variety in faiths,” Mayor Bruce Broadwater said.