Getting back to the original topic, does it hurt anyone if a public official wants to call for a day of prayer? It’s not like they can force anyone to join in.

If I recall, Winston Churchill declared a day of national prayer right before the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. I guess he was a fool for doing that. God and religion probably had nothing to do with the success of that operation; but maybe it gave some of the population comfort.