Wow. Prayer vigils for people most of us don't give us a s*** about and lose no sleep over. What a supreme waste of anyone's time. Why don't you pray for peace and bringing home our soldiers instead? That I would stand behind. Don't see them mentioned anywhere. Or are they not worth a few prayers?

Sounds like a publicity stunt. How do they know that Obama is subject to womanizing? We need to pray for our leaders yes, but we need to pray for everyone. Now if pray at the pump means pray for lower gas prices, I am all for it. Media coverage of some golfer's sex life shouldnt be the subject of a church's prayer meeting.

Just another example of why people dimiss religions and spiritualty. Sad. If you're going to pray for these individuals how about praying for their families? They are the ones who pay the price in the end...

Barack Obama has no connection whatsoever to Tiger Wood's shenanigans and peccadilloes and yet this group would talk about Obama in the same breath as Woods and append the word womanizing to the President's name--so in Tiger Wood's case the prayer is about sins already committed, in Obama's case the prayer is about sins yet to be committed, sins that lie in wait to grab the President, as a serpent did to Eve in the Garden of Eden- practiced by this group preemptive prayer is like preemptive war--an insult to the intelligence of thinking folks--women are always the evil temptresses and enticers in the eyes of these devotees of god--the ones who must be repulsed with prayers and supplications to a bachelor boy in heaven, the men are merely victims around whom the loving arms of the god lovers should be wrapped in forgiveness and mercy--what a load of crap. Barack Obama has not been womanized as yet by anyone other than Michelle Obama--this President suffers the prayers of the religious for sins he is yet to commit. Prayers around gas pumps? I am glad I never encountered one of those praying mantises while trying to fill up my auto tank. The primitive slaves of religion who wander this country will bring it to its knees.
Ravensfan Anon

This has to be one of the strangest posts I've seen from a major US newspaper blog. The entire press release is published with a preceding few lines mixing in somewhat bland pronouncements with "And President Barack Obama, whom they identify as "also vulnerable to womanizing."" That's it. And giving it a title, "Baltimore church to pray for Woods, Obama" so readers will get sucked in and read the trash press release. How about a headline that says "Racist church calls President Obama vulnerable to womanizing just like Tiger Woods." ...no follow up questions asked...propaganda reprinted here.

Why was it released? To give religion haters something to complain about. And boy do they fall for it.

I think you mean Seventh-day Adventist. At least, according to the church headquarters and the Stylebook.

Wow, didn't think this would arouse such hatred from apparently non-religious persons! Let's see, we don't believe people in Israel were praying to God for their King when he fell with Bathsheba in ancient times? We don't believe that it is wise to ask God for strength for the most powerful political world leader (considering the activities of a former president)? Very interesting that we don't want to pray for people we don't know...and that a church can't highlight issues such as infidelity and power, along with the temptations that come with power, through the current news! Churches, only deal with the Bible, not the culture or world we live in, that God has called you to preach to and teach! That's what these posters are requesting, I see...pitiful.

Churches should pray for our leaders, smt, but why make a big deal over someone because they are a celebrity? Some people used to think that if only The Beatles would know God then all will be ok. It is ridiculous. Most celebrities are too wrapped up in their careers to even bother with God. I can see praying for the president, but I wouldnt assume that he may be guilty of infidelity. Nor would I make it a big deal to pray for Tiger Woods. It looks like a publicity stunt to most people. Pray for him along with everybody else guilty of marital infidelity and pray for the families involved. I wouldnt single him out any more than praying for Letterman or that Moe of the Three Stooges is in heaven. Thanks.

Insightful congregation they know that Obama like Tiger they both suffer from the same ailment and just given time it's going to rear its ugly head. Left to their own devices and outside the sphere of the handlers men like Tiger,Obama,Clinton will self destruct.

I didnt write the last comment with a capitalized Clay about the insightful congregation. It is just satan doing the same old thing and trying to make Christians look bad. I actually said above that this congregation doesnt know that Obama will be unfaithful in marriage. Thanks.

Comparing Tiger Woods to Barack Obama is like trying to compare apples and oranges. They don't come from the same stuff. They're nothing alike. The only similarity that they have is skiin color, and if we're going to paint everybody with the same broad brush, then we're way off base in doing any kind of comparison studies.
Barack Obama is so far from being sexually promiscuous -- he'll never fall for those cheap women's advances like Tiger did.

It sounds very much like it's judging people - pointing out celebrities who sin in order to gain attention is an even bigger sin.

As a Seventh-day Adventist pastor myself, I have some mixed feelings about this. I am not surprised or offended by the range of comments here. The pastor that is organizing this activity has opened himself up to criticism just by making it public. But I find it refreshing that a pastor and church have taken on a culturally relevant situation that is already in the public eye. I am confident that many prayers are offered by this pastor and congregation on behalf of our soldiers, the sick and the poor-- people prayed for by name and en masse who the public passes by everyday. We pastors do this daily in our private prayers and publicly each week at worship. However, to offer prayers for the healing of a celebrity's soul is nothing less than asking for a miracle, in my opinion, and is something that I would commend them for at the end of the day, all other foibles and faux pas considered. Opening up such an activity to the public and making a public statement by doing it could be interpreted as a publicity stunt. It could also be seen as the church actually addressing the celebrity culture on its own turf.

As a believer, I pray continuously for our president, our military, believers, nonbelievers, as well as for Israel. I too have prayed for Tiger Woods to believe on Jesus Christ because he cannot go through this disgraceful matter without Him. I pray that for those who read my comments will realize that faith in Jesus Christ is a relationship with the Almighty God, who is a gracious and forgiving. He can make a way out of no way; this is not a religion; this is faith. We are to pray for one another.