Americans of every race and religion were touched by the storm,"yet some of the greatest hardship fell upon citizens already facing lives of struggle -- the elderly, the vulnerable and the poor," he said.

The destruction of this hurricane was "beyond any human power to control," but the restoration of broken communities and disrupted lives now "rests in our hands," he said.

In the audience were First Lady Laura Bush; Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales; and members of the Supreme Court and Congress. Also on hand were first-responders, members of the Salvation Army and several dozen survivors of the hurricane, who sat in the front rows.

After the service, Singh Sahib Darshan Singh along with all the 19 Sikhs who had attended the service, met with some of the victims from New Orleans who are stationed in D.C. Armory in Washington but were brought to this service.

Darshan Singh said that "I offer prayers for all the faith communities who have been affected by this tragedy. Especially the Sikhs of New Orleans need our prayers and support. Let us all help each other."

Dr. Rajwant Singh, who was asked by the White House to invite Sikh representatives to the event, said, "It was important to be part of this national ceremony and express our deep felt sentiments to the victims of this disaster. It has provided us an opportunity to bring the feeling of togetherness." He added, "It is also heartening to see that many Sikh organizations and individuals have done marvelous job of providing relief to so many. They have truly implemented the concept of sewa. But we all still need to do more."

The White House officials welcomed the Sikhs and met with Prof. Darshan Singh and others and thanked them for attending the service.

Sartaj Singh Dhami and Harjot Singh, both met with the relief officials in Washington who were in attendance and pledged to organize the Sikh youth volunteers to assist at the DC Armory. SCORE's Outreach official, Sartaj Singh said, "In the aftermath of America's worst natural disaster, the National Day of Prayer brought much needed reflection and healing to our Nation.But along with these spiritual sentiments, a deeper bond of unity and compassion was realized that lies at the foundation of America.

If anything, the Nation was rejuvenated with the near term commitment of aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina, as well as recognizing the strength of a land made up of diverse faiths based on assistance to all those in need."

Many gurdwaras across the nation including the Washington area have donated thousands of dollars to relief organizations. The Gurdwara of New Orleans was aldso submerged in the water and all of the 35 families of the New Orleans had moved to Baton Rouge or have gone to their relatives in other parts of the country. Sikhs of Baton Rouge and United Sikhs have served many meals to the victims.

Before Bush addressed the day of prayer service at Washington National Catherdal, Bishop T.D. Jakes, head of 30, 000-member Potter's House Church in Dallas, TX, delivered a sermon calling on Amreicans to no longer ignore the plight of the poor.

He urged the power-packed audience to use the devastation of Katrina to ease poverty and discrimination. Noting the destruction of the Twin Span Bridge between New Orleans and Slidell, Jakes said, "While building bridges and cities, let's build unity." He added, "It is not so important what we say. It is important what we do. It costs money to help people. And sometimes we have to love them enough to pay the bill."

In his prime-time speech to the nation Thursday night from New Orleans, Louisiana, Bush said the recovery effort would be one of the largest reconstruction projects the world has ever seen and promised that the federal government would cover "the great majority of the costs" of rebuilding Katrina-ravaged cities along the Gulf Coast region.

"One day, Americans will look back at the response to Hurricane Katrina and say that our country grew not only in prosperity, but in character and justice," he said. "There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who in the early days of the crisis had called for FEMA director Michael Brown's resignation, issued a statement of prayer Friday. "The waters and winds of destruction came down on our fellow citizens on the Gulf Coast," she said. "Now it is our divine charge to bring down the waters of justice; justice in providing for, supporting, rebuilding and serving those who suffer."

Nearly 800 people were confirmed killed by the hurricane, which pounded southern US states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Aug. 29, forcing about 1 million people to evacuate and leaving many others stranded in New Orleans.

Some other Sikhs who attended were: Dr. Jaswinder Singh Sidhu and his wife, Guddi Sidhu, Dawinder Sidhu, Inderpal Singh, Sirmukh Singh Manku, Bhai Rajinder Pal Singh, Manjit Singh Bedi, Sukhdev Singh Darhele, Surinder Singh Raheja and his wife, Himani Kaur Reheja, and Dr. Harpal Singh Mangat.