Georgia Turns to Prayer to Ease Drought

By SHANNON McCAFFREY, AP
1 hour ago
ATLANTA —
What to do when the rain won't come? If you're Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, you pray.

The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief from the drought gripping the Southeast.

"The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power," Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.

Perdue's office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday.

Perdue has several times mentioned the need for prayer _ along with water conservation _ as the state's drought crisis has worsened. Over the summer, he participated in day of prayer for agriculture at a gathering of the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon, Ga.

Perdue, a Baptist, has enjoyed strong support from Georgia's Christian conservatives.

The Southeast has been suffering from an intense drought in recent months that has threatened supplies of drinking water. Georgia has been locked in a battle with Alabama and Florida over how much water should be sent downstream from the state's dwindling reservoirs.

Governors from the three states reached a temporary agreement after meeting with Bush administration officials in Washington.

The prayer service will be held outside the state Capitol on Tuesday. Unless, of course, it rains.

"Then we'll move it inside, thankfully," Brantley said.

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