Mayor Bl0omberg has said that there will be no clergy or formal prayers at the tenth anniversary ceremonies for the 9/11 attacks next month, and Fernando Cabrera, a City Councilman from the Bronx, has taken up the campaign to change his mind.

“I am urging the Mayor to reconsider the decision to exclude prayer from the 10th Anniversary 9/11 ceremony,” Cabrera said in a statement.  “During 9/11, the faith community served as pillars for many New Yorker’s coping with the tragedy. As a pastor during the tumultuous aftermath, I know firsthand that it was a time where people were searching for meaning and things bigger than themselves. People’s faith helped fill this void and continue to serve as spiritual and emotional support.”

As he mentioned, Cabrera is a pastor at New Life Outreach International Church, and indeed, he has been everywhere touting the necessity for prayer at the 9/11 ceremonies appearing last week on CNN and on Fox News (see video below.)

Cabrera has begun an online petition to change the mayor’s mind.

A mayoral spokeswoman told CNN,

The ceremony was designed in coordination with 9/11 families with a mixture of readings that are spiritual, historical and personal in nature. It has been widely supported for the past 10 years and rather than have disagreements over which religious leaders participate we would like to keep the focus of our commemoration ceremony on the family members of those who died.

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