| The City of Akron observes a National
Day of Prayer May 4, 2006 as one of thousands of communities around America doing
so. National Day of Prayer was first
proclaimed by the Continental Congress in 1775. And while President Abraham Lincoln
signed a proclamation in 1863 asking Americans to set aside April 30 as a day to
"confess national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgivenesss," it
wasn't until 1952 that the United States began formally observing the day nationally,
during the presidency of Harry Truman. It was in 1988, though, that President Ronald
Reagan would sign legislation designating the first Thursday of every May as the day on
which the observance would be held.
This year the theme is America, Honor God.
END
Proclamation (36k pdf) |
