Organizer: Prop. 8 prayer not political

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Evangelical Christians say they hope the collective power of prayer will sway voters to support California's proposed ban of same-sex marriage.

Tens of thousands of churchgoers are expected at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium Saturday for a 12-hour "united massive fasting and prayer" to "save the very sanctity of marriage" by supporting Proposition 8, a ballot measure that would ban gay and lesbian marriage in California if approved.

Event organizers describe Tuesday's Proposition 8 vote as a "confrontation between light and darkness" and say they hope the stadium prayers will create "a wave of freedom and deliverance the state has never seen," a promotional video viewed by United Press International says.

But organizers deny the event is political.

"We're not there to make a political statement," said Lou Engle, who co-founded The Call, which organized the event.

"We're praying for a spiritual awakening," he told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The prayers will seek God's power "to influence the outcome of the election," but also to seek personal forgiveness, he said.

The Call's Web site says, "As California Goes, So Goes the Nation."

Supporters of same-sex marriage say Saturday's event is indeed political, seeking to energize supporters in the name of faith three days before the vote.

"Clearly the focus is on taking away this right" of same-sex marriage, Dale Kelly Bankhead, a No on 8 spokeswoman, told the newspaper. "It seems political to us."