ADF affirms National Day of Prayer, offers free legal help to those denied observance

[davidw]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Cities wishing to honor America’s Christian history on the National Day of Prayer have been advised by the Alliance Defense Fund that they have the legal right to officially observe the day.

ADF attorneys are available for comment to the media and will consider representing any municipality threatened for recognizing the May 4 event, which gained federal recognition more than 50 years ago.

Click here for more (http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3740)

[pphalan]

On 06 May 1982, Ronald Reagan offered these words: "Today, prayer is still a powerful force in America, and our faith in God is a mighty source of strength. Our Pledge of Allegiance states that we are 'one nation under God,' and our currency bears the motto, 'In God We Trust.' The morality and values such faith implies are deeply embedded in our national character. Our country embraces those principles by design, and we abandon them at our peril. Yet in recent years, well-meaning Americans in the name of freedom have taken freedom away. For the sake of religious tolerance, they've forbidden religious practice in the classrooms. The law of this land has effectively removed prayer from our classrooms. How can we hope to retain our freedom through the generations if we fail to teach our young that our liberty springs from an abiding faith in our Creator?"

History of the National Day of Prayer
1775 The First Continental Congress called for a National Day of Prayer.
1863 Abraham Lincoln called for such a day.
1952 Congress established NDP as an annual event by a joint resolution, signed into law by President Truman.
1988 The law was amended and signed by President Reagan, to be the first Thursday in May.