Pentecostal minister planning Democratic convention

(Stations: Moving on general news and political services.) DENVER (AP) Plans to open next month's Democratic National Convention in Denver with an interfaith service have angered some secular Democrats.

Convention organizer Leah Daughtry (DAH'-tree), who's an ordained Pentecostal minister, says she got an angry letter demanding to know whether atheists will be speaking at the service.

She wasn't sure how to respond, but said, "they're part of the party you treat them with respect." The 44-year-old Daughtry is a fifth-generation minister who carries a Bible in her purse.

She is Howard Dean's chief of staff at the Democratic National Committee.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 07-21-08 1427CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list