No, this image of Michael D. Brown is not from the current weekly edition of the Presidential Prayer Team for Kids. It is from an archived edition published last year as Hurricane Ivan was approaching. It appears that the web site staff may not wish to encourage children to spend their prayer time on out of favor leaders.
On September 9, Michael D. Brown still remained at the helm of FEMA. However, within a few hours of the announcement of Thad W. Allen's new responsibilities, an image of the Admiral captioned "Photo courtesy of the White House" was prominently displayed in the #1 slot under "Other Leaders to Pray For":
(Image Last Modified Date: Friday, September 09, 2005 3:25:44 PM)
pptkids.org noted:
Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen has been called in to help FEMA with its rescue and relief operations and Michael D. Brown has stepped aside.
"Stepped aside." That is a strong choice of words. On Friday, CNN and others were still reporting the official party line that Brown was returning to Washington to oversee the big picture:
Chertoff suggested the shift came as the Gulf Coast efforts were entering "a new phase of the recovery operation." He said Brown would return to Washington to oversee the government's response to other potential disasters.
"I appreciate his work, as does everybody here," Chertoff said.
Chertoff, by the way, currently holds the #2 prayer slot.
Organizing One's Prayers
pptkids.org encourages children to join its adult members at presidentialprayerteam.org tomorrow for a Virtual Prayer Rally.
Respond to President Bush's Call to Pray
In the face of the overwhelming loss of life and destruction left by Hurricane Katrina, President Bush has called for a Day of Prayer and Remembrance on Friday, September 16.
The Presidential Prayer Team is joining in that call to prayer by providing a unique venue for prayer: The Virtual Prayer Rally--24 hours of around the clock prayer for all the concerns expressed by President Bush.
Please complete the following form, choosing a specific time slot during which you agree to pray. If you wish to participate but cannot participate on the specific date, or if you will be able to pray but are unsure of the exact hour, please select "No Specific Time" from the time slot drop down.
We will have available resources to help you as you pray.
Prayer resources include Prayers for the President where the President's name is substituted in selected Bible passages such as:
I pray that President Bush will put bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil away from him with all malice. I pray also that kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness will characterize him, just as they do God and His Son Jesus Christ.
--Ephesians 4:31-32
Rally participants may stay on message by using the handy list of Prayer Points that includes:
Insight, wisdom and strength for the President and related members of his cabinet as they continue to provide services and extend help.
Help, support and wisdom for state and local officials as they provide assistance and consider the rebuilding process.
Smooth coordination of relief efforts among governments and agencies.
Although the Virtual Prayer Rally appears to have been announced last week, Michael D. Brown's name is conspicuously absent from the lengthy list of Leaders to Pray For.
One Final Note: Going to the Dogs
The June 10, 2005 edition of the pptkids.org includes this curious biographical detail about Michael D. Brown:
Growing up in "tornado alley," Michael D. Brown was raised in Oklahoma and had a basset hound named Roosevelt and a dachshund named Eisenhower.
I'm fairly confident the basset hound's namesake was probably Teddy and not FDR. At least one of Brown's resumes claims that he had been a trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
Do you suppose there will be a Bush dog in Brown's future?
[All images are links to pptkids.org.]