First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at one of the country’s largest megachurches to mark the one-year anniversary of Let’s Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity.
North Point Community Church, a nondenominational evangelical church of more than 20,000 hosted the speech with Ray of Hope Christian Church, an Atlanta-based African American church.
North Point’s head pastor Andy Stanley, 52, gave one of the prayers at the prayer service the day after President Obama’s inauguration. The White House’s press release calls Stanley “a young and rising leader in the evangelical community.” His father is Charles Stanley, who served two terms as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention and is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta.
In late 2010, the campaign against obesity has set off some partisan debate. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin joked about the program while Mike Huckabee defended it.
Michelle Obama has reached out the faith leaders through conference calls and meetings, asking them to educate congregants about healthy eating. Her speech was not particularly religious, like the one President Obama gave last week at the prayer breakfast. Instead, it seemed like a fairly general pitch on promoting healthy lifestyle with a brief mention of faith communities.
“We need to change things not just from the outside, but from the inside as well. We need to ask ourselves, ‘What can I do, through my workplace, my place of worship, my organization, to help kids in my community lead healthier lives?'” she said in her speech. “And how about getting your church or place of worship involved? That’s what we’re doing through Let’s Move Faith and Communities, we’re supporting faith leaders who want to build healthier congregations.”
