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Americans of all faiths will gather Thursday to participate in the National Day of Prayer.
Held on the first Thursday of May, the event has been set aside as a day to ask for God's help for our communities, our states and our nation.
The annual event has been held nationally since 1952, with local events in our area being held for more than 30 years.
Local observances are set for several locations. They will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Wintersville, when members of the spiritual life committee at the Jefferson County Christian School will gather around the flagpole at the village's Municipal Building to join in prayer with members of the community, government officials and first responders.
Steubenville's event will be held at noon in the Berkman Amphitheater at Historic Fort Steuben, at the corner of Third and Market streets. In Weirton, the observance will be held at noon on the steps of the Weirton Municipal Building, located at 200 Municipal Plaza. In Wellsburg, the town's Kiwanis Club will team with local clergy and Mayor Dan Dudley for a prayer service at noon on the Town Square. And, in Toronto, Crossroads North River Church has organized an event involving several area pastors that will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. It will begin with a prayer walk from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the vicinity of the city's Gazebo Commons on North Third Street.
In addition to local events, the national observance, which is marking its 72nd anniversary, will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday. That event will be streamed live at nationaldayofprayer.org and on the Facebook pages of National Day of Prayer.
This year's theme is "Pray Fervently in Righteousness and Avail Much," which is based on James 5:16b, which reads "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective …" It's an appropriate theme, one that offers a reminder that prayer needs to be an integral part of the solution to our problems.
The right to practice our faith is one of the greatest freedoms we enjoy as Americans.
The National Day of Prayer continues to offer a great opportunity to use that freedom as a way to bring about positive change.