Action Instead of Prayer

Last night from 7:30 to midnight there was a prayer vigil at my soon to be former place of employment in remembrance of the terror acts of 9/11/01. There is a member here (bi-polar and crazier than a loon...I know, I know, we all have issues, but she doesn't take her meds and is a royal pain!) who always organizes these things. She feels as if , having done this, she's done her part for God and humanity and can go along with her business.
As the pastor is sleeping in this morning I had time to contemplate the effectiveness of a prayer vigil. As an atheist I realize my point of view is anything but objective.
My feeling is that the payer vigil most serves the one on his or her knees, and not in a altruistic way. It is a huge self-serving waste of time and in the case of an evening service, electricity.
I know that human beings appear to be hard-wired to form a belief system. At the time of my spiritual journey I would get a buzz from attending a church service just from the gathering of sympathetic souls with a common goal. My opinion now is that common goal was to make ourselves feel good.
In my five years as secretary of a fairly liberal denomination I've learned that any attempt at dealing with social concerns in a practical way soon falls by the wayside because nobody wants to do more than "pray". This is certainly understandable from the point of view of the elderly members but interestingly enough, they are the most motivated to go that extra mile.
The former pastor told me that the 70-90 year old women who attended afternoon Bible study were game to discuss anything. I believe that age can make you realistic and proactive. Time is a factor. Fear of what others will think is less of a concern.
I do not have a wide experience of churches but this church only talks big. They are the laziest, stingiest group of "Christians" I've ever encountered. The problem is the "big talk" is still drawing in the area liberal, would-be, activists who still have a shred of spirituality thinking that this church is where the action is.
There is no action here.
Why didn't someone work just as hard setting up a fund for the uninsured or under insured that have been effected by breathing the toxic fallout from ground zero? Our government isn't doing it and other funds don't cove enough. Why not college educations for all of the families left behind by 9/11 and the travesty in Iraq. Send money to Move-On.org or Truthout or Truthdig or any of the sources of real journalism left in America. Nope...it's easier to pray, pat ourselves on the back and say "I've earned my place in heaven now".