[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 90 (Monday, May 11, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26817-26818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11402]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 90 / Monday, May 11, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 26817]]

                Proclamation 9274 of May 6, 2015

                
National Day of Prayer, 2015

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                When women and men of all backgrounds and beliefs are 
                free to practice their faiths without fear or coercion, 
                it bolsters our religious communities and helps to lift 
                up diverse and vibrant societies throughout our world. 
                In America, our Nation is stronger because we welcome 
                and respect people of all faiths, and because we 
                protect the fundamental right of all peoples to 
                practice their faith how they choose, to change their 
                faith, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so 
                free from persecution and discrimination. Today, as we 
                pause in solemn reflection, we celebrate the religious 
                liberty we cherish here at home, and we recommit to 
                standing up for religious freedom around the world.

                For many of us, prayer is an important expression of 
                faith--an essential act of worship and a daily 
                discipline that allows reflection, provides guidance, 
                and offers solace. Through prayer we find the strength 
                to do God's work: to feed the hungry, care for the 
                poor, comfort the afflicted, and make peace where there 
                is strife. In times of uncertainty or tragedy, 
                Americans offer humble supplications for comfort for 
                those who mourn, for healing for those who are sick, 
                and for protection for those who are in harm's way. 
                When we pray, we are reminded that we are not alone--
                our hope is a common hope, our pain is shared, and we 
                are all children of God.

                Around the globe, too few know the protections we enjoy 
                in America. Millions of individuals worldwide are 
                subjected to discrimination, abuse, and sanctioned 
                violence simply for exercising their religion or 
                choosing not to claim a faith. Communities are 
                threatened with genocide and driven from their 
                homelands because of who they are or how they pray. The 
                United States will continue to stand against these 
                reprehensible attacks, work to end them, and protect 
                religious freedom throughout the world. And we remember 
                those who are prisoners of conscience--who are held 
                unjustly because of their faiths or beliefs--and we 
                will take every action within our power to secure their 
                release.

                In the face of tremendous challenges, prayer is a 
                powerful force for peace, justice, and a brighter, more 
                hopeful tomorrow. Today, as we join together in 
                fellowship, we seek to see our own reflection in the 
                struggle of others, to be our brothers' and sisters' 
                keepers, and to keep faith--in one another, in the 
                promise of our Nation, and in the Almighty.

                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, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim May 7, 2015, as a 
                National Day of Prayer. I invite the citizens of our 
                Nation to give thanks, in accordance with their own 
                faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and 
                blessings, and I join all people of faith in asking for 
                God's continued guidance, mercy, and protection as we 
                seek a more just world.

[[Page 26818]]

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

[FR Doc. 2015-11402
Filed 5-8-15; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F5