National Day of Prayer, 2001

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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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Title 3--
The President

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.

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