The  president of the pro-marriage and pro-life Family Research Council (FRC) based in Washington DC has encouraged the United States’ leaders to call the nation together for a focused day of prayer and reconciliation.

Tony Perkins released a strongly worded and definitive statement. “We join the nation in mourning those killed in the horrific synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of such acts of evil. But we can and must overcome the evil that preys upon the innocent. As a nation, we must turn to God and find healing, unity, and restoration.”

Perkins added that the country should attempt to come together and take a day to “seek God and pray for Him to bring healing to our nation.”

The Family Research Council president also said that individuals were not capable of tackling society’s ills on their own. He explained that for 250 years the United States has been a country under the umbrella of God. The background behind the Declaration of Independence is after all deeply religious, even if there is a separation between Church and State. Perkins also referenced that the Founding Fathers held a national day of prayer as they contemplated the struggle against Britain.

Perkins questioned, whether in view of the enormous challenges of our time, “do we not find ourselves in a situation where our only hope is God?

The Family Research Council was established in 1981 and incorporated in 1983.  Its stated mission is “to advance faith, family and freedom in public policy and the culture from a Christian worldview.” The FRC promotes what it considers traditional family values by advocating and lobbying for socially conservative policies. It opposes and lobbies against equal rights for LGBT people (such as same-sex marriage, same-sex civil unions, and LGBT adoption), abortion, divorce, embryonic stem-cell research and pornography.