Jonathan Aitken to be Keynote Speaker At 47th Annual Minnesota Prayer Breakfast on April 4th

Event Will Also Feature Music and Dramatic Readings; Many Government and Civic Leaders to Attend


MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 14, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Minnesota Prayer Breakfast Committee announced today that Jonathan Aitken, will be the featured speaker at the Forty-Seventh Annual Minnesota Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at the RiverCentre in downtown Saint Paul, Minn. Music for the 2007 Minnesota Prayer Breakfast will be performed by Chryss Altamirano.

Jonathan Aitken is a writer and broadcaster. He is the author of twelve books, including Nixon: A Life (1993); Pride and Perjury (2000); Psalms for People Under Pressure (2004); Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed (2005), and John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace which will be published in June 2007.

Jonathan Aitken's previous career spanned the world of journalism, business, Great Britain's Parliament -- and prison.

In the 1960s, Aitken was a journalist, serving as a war correspondent in Vietnam, Biafra and the Middle East. He still continues to write articles for a wide range of newspapers and magazines. After journalism, Aitken went into business and became chairman of a merchant bank in London, England.

In 1974, Aitken was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament (an "MP"), spending eighteen years on the backbenches of Great Britain's Parliament until being appointed Minister of State for Defence in 1992. He joined the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 1994.

Aitken's life then changed dramatically. Having told a lie on oath in a libel action, Aitken pleaded guilty to charges of perjury and served an eighteen-month prison sentence. Having subsequently rediscovered his faith, after serving his prison sentence he became a theology student at Oxford University. After graduating with Distinction in theology after two years at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, he now speaks and writes extensively on the Christian faith. Aitken is author in residence at St Matthew's Church Westminster; a director of Prison Fellowship International; Executive Director of The Trinity Forum in Europe; and Honorary President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

Aitken is now a well-known lecturer and public speaker. Active in prison ministry and outreach ministry, he travels across the world for Prison Fellowship International and Alpha International. His recent audiences in the U.S.A. have included President George W. Bush's staff in the White House, the Harvard Club of New York, the prisoners of Parchman State Penitentiary in Mississippi, and Christian congregations in Vermont, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas and Washington DC. He has also spoken to large audiences in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and in many European countries. In the U.K., he fulfills over 50 engagements for lectures, talks, debates and after-dinner speeches each year. Aitken recently was the keynote speaker at the 2007 Australian National Prayer Breakfast.

The Minnesota Prayer Breakfast annually attracts more than 1,500 people and seeks to promote prayer and spirituality in public and private life. Attending last year's breakfast were many community, business and political leaders. Among those planning to attend this year's Prayer Breakfast are Minnesota's newest U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Governor Tim Pawlenty. The event is open to the public and attendance is encouraged.

ABOUT THE MINNESOTA PRAYER BREAKFAST -- The Minnesota Prayer Breakfast is a nonprofit project organized by the Minnesota Prayer Breakfast Committee, a nonprofit volunteer group. The breakfast was first held in 1961 and is patterned after the annual National Prayer Breakfast held in Washington, D.C. The 47th Annual Minnesota Prayer Breakfast will be at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in downtown Saint Paul, Minn., on April 4, 2007 at 7:00 a.m. Co-chairs of the Prayer Breakfast are Marc and Alicia Belton. More information is available by calling (651) 488-1000 or visiting the Minnesota Prayer Breakfast website at www.minnesotaprayer.org. Tickets are $20, and a limited number will be available at the door. Early ticket purchase is encouraged.


            

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