On May 5, Wayne County joined communities across the country in giving thanks for the blessings of liberty by commemorating the National Day of Prayer.

At the Church of the Saviour, religious leaders and community members gathered for the Wooster area National Day of Prayer breakfast. Nearby, at the Gazebo on the Square in downtown Wooster, area residents gathered in prayer and song for a National Day of Prayer observance.

Similar scenes played out in cities, towns and villages throughout the county as community members in groups large and small gathered to carry on a tradition started by the Founding Fathers.

“A national day of prayer has been a part of our nation’s history since first being proclaimed by the Continental Congress in 1775,” said Wayne County Commissioner Scott Wiggam, reading from the resolution proclaiming May 5 as a Day of Prayer in Wayne County, which was unanimously adopted by the commissioners during their April 27 meeting.

Recounting the history of this important commemoration, Wiggam noted that “in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation asking Americans to set aside April 30th as a day to confess national sins and pray for clemency and forgiveness.

“Such a day has been observed nationally since 1952 when Congress and President Harry S. Truman provided for a national day of prayer on which the people of the United States could turn to God in prayer and meditation,” Wiggam continued.

According to Wiggam, in 1988 legislation designating the observance of an annual National Day of Prayer, to be observed on the first Thursday of May, was unanimously ratified by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

Wiggam noted the centuries-old tradition in America of thanking God for the freedoms Americans enjoy.

“Our nation’s founders understood that freedom and God-centered morality are inseparable,” read Wiggam, adding a quotation from the nation’s second President, John Adams, who said, “our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”

“The God-given right of religious freedom is acknowledged in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Wiggam added.

The resolution concluded by saying that it is fitting that May 5 be recognized as a day “when all citizens may acknowledge our blessings, express our gratitude to God and recognize the continuing need for strong positive moral values to guide our nation.”

By passing their resolution, the commissioners joined Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a statewide Day of Prayer observance.

“Ohio is proud to be home to citizens of many faiths and prayer has long been a positive force that unites Ohioans and serves as a source of inspiration and hope to countless individuals,” said Kasich in his declaration.

In his April 29 declaration designating May 5 as a National Day of Prayer, President Barack Obama urged Americans to be “thankful for the liberty that allows people of all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience…and for the many other freedoms and blessings that we often take for granted.

“I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or conscience directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I ask all people of faith to join me in asking God for guidance, mercy and protection for our Nation,” said President Obama in the declaration.

“Let us ask God for the sustenance and guidance for all of us to meet the great challenges we face as a Nation,” President Obama added.