[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 17 (Monday, May 3, 1993)]
[Pages 718-719]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6553--National Day of Prayer, 1993

 April 30, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    The American people were the first to define a nation in terms of 
both spirituality and human liberty. Throughout our Nation's history, 
America has been a beacon for millions in search of spiritual and 
religious freedom. Immigrants have come to the United States seeking not 
just freedom from persecution and discrimination, but also freedom for 
the right of self-determination. On this National Day of Prayer, we 
reaffirm this fundamental freedom of religion that has made our Nation 
so strong.
    Thomas Jefferson understood the greater purpose of the liberty that 
our Founding Fathers sought during the creation of our Nation. Although 
it was against the British that the colonists fought for political 
rights, the true source of the rights of man was clearly stated in the 
Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote that all humans are 
``endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights . . . .'' It 
was self-evident to him that denying these rights was wrong and that he 
and others must struggle to win what was theirs.
    The epic struggle of the Revolutionary War and the vigilance that 
the protection of our rights has required have embedded in our Nation a 
profound understanding of the true meaning and value of our freedom. 
With the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness comes the 
duty to use those rights for the good of humankind. This belief is 
fundamental to the American tradition. The result of our Founding 
Fathers' conception of a state created by man through the responsible 
use of God-given rights is a Nation of unparalleled freedom and dazzling 
diversity.
    Today we face great challenges. The diversity that gives us so much 
strength is often seen as a source of division. We are searching for 
solutions to the difficult challenges of providing a safe and rewarding 
future for our children, securing adequate health care for our people, 
and of building good, nurturing communities.
    Through prayer our people take a moment away from the concerns of 
everyday life to understand the greater power that gives us guidance. We 
come together in an act common to all religions. Prayer gives us a quiet 
space to remember and contemplate the greater purpose of the activity 
that fills our lives. As a Nation, we understand the common bonds we all 
share, and we recommit ourselves to serving a greater good. Prayer 
enables us to rejoice in our freedoms and understand the implicit 
responsibility that accompanies them. We return to the guiding vision 
that gives our Nation so much vitality.
    By joint resolution of the Congress, approved April 17, 1952, the 
people have recognized the role of spiritual reaffirmation and prayer in 
our history by setting aside a particular day each year as a ``National 
Day of Prayer.'' Since 1952, each President has proclaimed an annual 
National Day of Prayer, resuming the tradition begun by our Founding 
Fathers in 1776. By Public Law 100-307,

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the first Thursday in May of each year has been set aside as a National 
Day of Prayer.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim May 6, 1993, as a National Day of 
Prayer. I call upon the citizens of this great Nation to pray, each 
after his or her own manner, to remember those who are in need, to 
achieve patience in tribulation, to resolve the problems that divide us, 
to rejoice in hope, and to express thanks for the abundance we have 
experienced throughout our history.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:59 p.m., April 30, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on May 
4.