[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22103-22104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11209]



[[Page 22101]]

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Part VI





The President





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Proclamation 7430--National Day of Prayer, 2001



Executive Order 13209--Amendment to Executive Order 13183, 
Establishment of the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 2, 2001 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 22103]]

                Proclamation 7430 of April 27, 2001

                
National Day of Prayer, 2001

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Turning to prayer in times of joy and celebration, 
                strife and tragedy is an integral part of our national 
                heritage. When the first settlers landed on the rocky 
                shores of the New World, they celebrated with prayer, 
                and the practice has continued through our history. In 
                1775, the Continental Congress asked the citizens of 
                the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a Nation. 
                General George Washington, encamped at Valley Forge, 
                also sought God's guidance as Americans fought for 
                their independence. The faith of our Founding Fathers 
                established the precedent that prayers and national 
                days of prayer are an honored part of our American way 
                of life.

                Continuing in that tradition, many of the men and women 
                who have served at the highest levels of our Nation 
                also have turned to prayer seeking wisdom from the 
                Almighty. President Lincoln, who proclaimed a day of 
                ``humiliation, fasting, and prayer'' in 1863, once 
                stated: ``I have been driven many times to my knees by 
                the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to 
                go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed 
                insufficient for the day.'' Today, millions of 
                Americans continue to hold dear that conviction 
                President Lincoln so eloquently expressed. Gathering in 
                churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and homes, we 
                ask for strength, direction, and compassion for our 
                neighbors and ourselves.

                The theme of the 2001 National Day of Prayer is ``One 
                Nation Under God.'' In a prayer written specially for 
                the occasion, Americans are asked to pray for ``a moral 
                and spiritual renewal to help us meet the many problems 
                we face.'' Special observances are scheduled for all 50 
                States, with local volunteers planning a variety of 
                activities including prayer breakfasts, concerts, 
                rallies, and student gatherings. These events will 
                bring people of all faiths together, each according to 
                his or her own beliefs, to give thanks to the Almighty 
                and to ask for strength and guidance.

                The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, has called on our 
                citizens to reaffirm the role of prayer in our society 
                and to honor the religious diversity our freedom 
                permits by recognizing annually a ``National Day of 
                Prayer.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States of America, do hereby proclaim May 3, 2001, as a 
                National Day of Prayer. I encourage the citizens of our 
                Nation to pray each in his or her own manner, seeking 
                God's blessings on our families and government 
                officials and personal renewal, moral awakening, and a 
                new spirit of harmony across our land. I urge all 
                Americans to join in observing this day with 
                appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

[[Page 22104]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 01-11209
Filed 5-1-01; 9:07 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P