History of the Prayer Breakfast
In 1964, C. Virgil Martin, President of Carson Pirie Scott and Company, served as Chairman of the first annual Chicago Prayer Breakfast. Since then, distinguished business and civic leaders have sponsored an annual event. The Chicago Prayer Breakfast was originally held on the first Thursday in May in the Grand Ballroom of the Conrad Hilton Hotel. The late Mayor Richard J. Daley started a tradition of annual participation by the city’s Chief Executive Officer—a tradition that continues with his son, Mayor Richard M. Daley. Because the Chicago mayoral elections are held every four years in the Spring, it was decided in 1980 to move the prayer breakfast to the first Friday in December.
Over the years, Chicago Prayer Breakfast keynote speakers have included U.S. Senators Mark Hatfield (Oregon), William Armstrong (Colorado) and Harold Hughes (Iowa); Minnesota Governor Albert Quie; religious leaders Tony Campolo, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Otis Moss III and Sherre Hirsch; sports figures Tom Landry, Mike Singletary and Gary Barnett; business leaders James Beré (Borg Warner) and Donald Soderquist (Wal-Mart); and NPR radio host, Krista Tippett (Speaking of Faith). Protestant, Catholic and Jewish leaders participated from the beginning, and in 2001 the circle was widened to include participation by the Muslim community and others.
The Prayer Breakfast was originally sponsored by the Chicago Foundation, an Illinois non-profit created to organize the annual event. In 1999 responsibility for the breakfast was given to the Chicago Sunday Evening Club, an Illinois non-profit, which produces the weekly interfaith television broadcast, 30 Good Minutes, on WTTW Channel 11.
The Chicago Sunday Evening Club organizes the Chicago Prayer Breakfast on behalf of the wider community and does not benefit financially from the event. Ticket process for the event are set to cover basic expenses and the event is underwritten annually by the Northern Trust Company. Any proceeds from the event are kept in a restricted fund for future Prayer Breakfasts.
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