[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 89 (Monday, May 11, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22087-22088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11124]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 89 / Monday, May 11, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 22087]]


                Proclamation 8374 of May 7, 2009

                
National Day of Prayer, 2009

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Throughout our Nation's history, Americans have come 
                together in moments of great challenge and uncertainty 
                to humble themselves in prayer. In 1775, as the 
                Continental Congress began the task of forging a new 
                Nation, colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet 
                humiliation and prayer. Almost a century later, as the 
                flames of the Civil War burned from north to south, 
                President Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the 
                American people to pray as the fate of their Nation 
                hung in the balance.

                It is in that spirit of unity and reflection that we 
                once again designate the first Thursday in May as the 
                National Day of Prayer. Let us remember those who came 
                before us, and let us each give thanks for the courage 
                and compassion shown by so many in this country and 
                around the world.

                On this day of unity and prayer, let us also honor the 
                service and sacrifice of the men and women of the 
                United States Armed Forces. We celebrate their 
                commitment to uphold our highest ideals, and we 
                recognize that it is because of them that we continue 
                to live in a Nation where people of all faiths can 
                worship or not worship according to the dictates of 
                their conscience.

                Let us also use this day to come together in a moment 
                of peace and goodwill. Our world grows smaller by the 
                day, and our varied beliefs can bring us together to 
                feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make 
                peace where there is strife; and to lift up those who 
                have fallen on hard times. As we observe this day of 
                prayer, we remember the one law that binds all great 
                religions together: the Golden Rule, and its call to 
                love one another; to understand one another; and to 
                treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share 
                a brief moment on this Earth.

                The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has 
                called on the President to issue each year a 
                proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a 
                ``National Day of Prayer.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 7, 
                2009, as a National Day of Prayer. I call upon 
                Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and 
                blessings and to ask for God's continued guidance, 
                grace, and protection for this land that we love.

[[Page 22088]]

                 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. E9-11124
Filed 5-8-09; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W9-P