Michele Bachmann Preaches Hope at Iowa Church; Avoids Politics
“We will have a new day.”
The words of Minnesota congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann were shorn of political rhetoric as she shared a message of repentance and hope with Point of Grace Church in Iowa on Sunday, reported The Des Moines Register.
On the second day of her three-day, 10-stop bus tour of the state, Bachmann gave speeches at two separate worship services at the evangelical church in Waukee, in which she shared several personal stories, including her own “conversion” and how a miscarriage led her husband and her to provide care to foster children.
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Bachmann seemed very comfortable in the pulpit position despite an odd stumble, and chose to focus on God and her personal history instead of politics, excluding even the word “Republican,” the Register reported.
“I wish every Iowan could be here in this auditorium this morning,” she said as she praised the congregation for being present at the service.
The replica painting “Prayer at Valley Forge” that she saw at the church lobby is also mounted on the walls of her office in Washington, D.C., she told church members.
That image shows George Washington praying beside his horse as he prepared for the crucial battle more than two centuries ago.
“We too are at a crucial time today,” Bachmann said, “And I think it is for us to remember, that if we do as Chronicles tells us, if we humble ourselves, and pray and confess our sins, and turn away from our wicked ways, and ask an almighty God to come and protect us and fight the battle for us, we know from his word, his promise is sure. He will come. He will heal our land. And we will have a new day.”
God is not partial, she said, as she wove scriptural lessons with personal stories. She spoke of her turning to God three decades ago.
"It was in 1972, November 1, when I bowed my knee and gave my heart to Jesus Christ, when I recognized, as the Bible says, all have sinned, all have fallen short, all need a savior," she said. "And I came to the realization that even though I thought I was a nice person – I wasn't doing drugs, I wasn't wild, I wasn't drinking – it didn't matter. I was a sinner. I needed a savior. It changed me; it changed every part of me," The Los Angeles Time reported.
“What he will do for one, he will do for all. And it is the same with nations as well. And as we seek him, he’s there for us. I have seen it … He is not partial. …He will do for you, and he will do for our nation. May God bless Point of Grace Church,” she added, according to the Register.
Bachmann said that the day after high school graduation, she and 16 other youths went to Israel to see “where it all began.”
“And I want you to know that I stand with Israel,” she said, perhaps the closest she came to making a political statement. The Christian crowd applauded her.
She also shared the story of her miscarriage that she had after her first two children were born and how that “profound experience” changed both her and her husband, Marcus.
She said that at that moment they both prayed and said they would accept as many children into their lives as God wished. They went on to have three more biological children and accepted 23 foster children into their home, she said.
Bachmann’s speeches at the church were followed by events at 12:30 p.m. at the Pizza Ranch in Carroll, and at 4 p.m. at the Wells Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor & Museum in Le Mars.
