SILENT PRAYER PERIOD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26559, 6 September 1947, Page 2

SILENT PRAYER PERIOD

Sir,—May I express another viewpoint concerning a remit expressed by the Returned Soldiers’ Association desiring a return of the 9 o’clock linked stand-by for silent prayer The idea may appear praiseworthy were it not a regimented hold-up at an embarrassing time of the evening—the peak of the evening’s entertainment. There are plenty of interruptions, stand-bys, hold-ups, closedowns, etc., without arbitrarily adding to them and so completely breaking the continuity of the evening’s programme, as has so often been the case. If conscription of praying is to be the broadcasting policy, let it be confined to one station or to church gatherings, but let it be realised the majority prefer continuity to compulsion for prayer purposes, especially at this time of the evening's entertainment. Many plays, comedies, etc., may, and do, lose their grip on the •audience if held up through a man-made break at 9 p.m.—l am, etc., Continuity.