A Gentle Rain Downpour Doesn’t Deter Evangelicals

Despite a heavy downpour, thousands upon thousands of evangelical Christians rallied at the foot of Capitol Hill Tuesday, pledging with prayer to battle the demons that they said were plaguing America.

Although the crowds were obviously sending a message to Congress, they did not seem to have their minds set on any legislation. In fact, the Rev. Bryan Claxton, pastor of the New Creation Christian Church in Baltimore, said, “The message we want to forward to Congress is that the government isn’t going to solve the problems. But the churches will.”

The two-day demonstration, called the “Washington for Jesus” rally by its sponsors, was organized by a church in Virginia Beach, Va., that hoped to attract 250,000 people to the capital.

It was difficult to estimate their numbers, however, because a steady flow of demonstrators kept leaving the rain-lashed grounds to find shelter.

But speakers and gospel singers still had many thousands of rain-defying spectators before them throughout the day. “The Lord God is now watering on the sacrifice,” the Rev. R.V. Hill of Los Angeles told the crowd. “Rain, like the sun, is the will of God. We don’t run from it. We accept it.”