Obama spoke at a National Prayer Breakfast at the Hilton Washington. Read his full remarks here.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
"I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I’ve ever known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done.
I didn’t become a Christian until many years later, when I moved to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent month after month working with church folks who simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck – no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God’s spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose – His purpose. "
Some of the council members:
WSJ: President Obama is announcing a new 25-member President's Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships on Thursday. The White House said about 15 people will be named on Thursday, including:
Diane Baillargeon, president and CEO of Seedco
Fred Davie, president of Public/Private Ventures
Pastor Joel Hunter, Northland Church
Vashti McKenzie, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention
Eboo Patel, executive director, Interfaith Youth Core
Melissa Rogers, professor of religion and public policy at Wake Forest University Divinity School.
David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Judith N. Vredenburgh, president and chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters
