National Day of Prayer History and Valley events

Because of the faith of many of the Founding Fathers, public prayer and national days of prayer have a significant history in American tradition. Since the first call to prayer in 1775 when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued, including President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863.

1952: President Harry S. Truman declared a National Day of Prayer and signed into law an annual observance.

1988: President Ronald Reagan signed into law the designation of the first Thursday in May as the annual observance for the National Day of Prayer.

1998: Public law 105-225 notes that the president shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups and as individuals.

Valley events: Other observances in the Mahoning Valley were a morning prayer breakfast in Warren with speaker Warren Mayor Doug Franklin; a community gathering at Crestview High School in New Waterford that included New Waterford Mayor Shane Patrone and representatives of the 4C’s (Crestview Churches Community Concerns) with a prayer focus on government, military, media, business, education, churches and families; Hubbard Christians in Action in Tylee Park; Salem committee on the Village Green; and Pastor Barry Knaub of Memorial Baptist Church in Poland prayed on the church rooftop.

Source: www.nationaldayofprayer.org