Newtown To Observe National Day Of Prayer

May 3 will mark this year’s National Day of Prayer, when the people of this nation are encouraged to unite in prayer, one day each year, each in accordance with his or her own faith. The first National Day of Prayer dates back to 1775 and an annual observance was established by Congress in 1952.

A Christian observance of the National Day of Prayer will be held Thursday, May 3, in The Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street. The event will run from 7:30 to 8:30 pm and welcomes all who would like to pray together in a biblical context.

The theme for the event will be “One Nation Under God,” based on Psalm 33:12 (“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”). It will feature readings from the New and Old Testament, music, and prayer for the nation in seven major areas of influence: government, church, military, family, education, media, and business.

This event has been conducted annually in Newtown for the past several years, with prayer led by speakers from various professions and public service, military, and Catholic and Protestant clergy. This year’s program will be simpler and more interactive with those attending. There will be speaker-lead prayer but also opportunity for those attending to join together in smaller groups to pray for specific areas of national concern.

The National Day of Prayer publicly acknowledges dependence upon God as a nation. It calls to mind the ways in which the Founding Fathers sought the wisdom of God as the nation was being born and as Presidents and leaders have called upon God throughout the nation’s history when faced with critical decisions and difficult times.

The evening is organized by a small team of Newtown residents from various area churches using the themes and guidelines of the National Day of Prayer Task Force (www.NationalDayOfPrayer.org), a private organization that works to encourage locally run National Day of Prayer gatherings across the nation.

Last year in Connecticut, public national day of prayer events were held in every single city and town. It is estimated that across the nation 30,000 National Day of Prayer events organized by 40,000 volunteers were attended by two million people.

For further information concerning the Newtown event, contact Bob Bob Andrejczyk at windsoar58@att.net or 203-270-1888.