Washington Day of Repentance
Proclaiming a Washington State Day of Prayer and Fasting
WHEREAS, the national motto of the United States of America declares we are “One Nation Under God”, and our national currency confirms that “In God We Trust”; and,
WHEREAS, the preamble to every state constitution in our nation affirms and acknowledges that we owe gratitude to our Creator, or similar wording; and,
WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence, published to the world this Nation’s “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”; and,
WHEREAS, on April 30, 1863, an eloquent call for prayer was issued by President Abraham Lincoln, as follows:
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness; and;
WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress, by a joint resolution approved on April 17, 1952 (66 Stat. 64), provided that the President “shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation”; and,
WHEREAS, on June 17, 1952, President Harry Truman established a National Day of Prayer via Proclamation 2978 to remind our citizens that from the earliest days of our history our people have been accustomed to turn to Almighty God for help and guidance; and,
WHEREAS, in times of national crisis when we are striving to strengthen the foundations of peace and security, we stand in special need of Divine support; and,
WHEREAS, many Days of Prayer and Fasting for the nation have been called for either by the President or by State Governors in times of national or state crisis; and,
WHEREAS, on September 11, 2001, this nation experienced the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history resulting in extensive death and destruction, and in response people across Washington state gathered in their places of worship to express their anguish and to cry for help in time of need. An estimated crowd of 90,000 gathered spontaneously at the Seattle Center alone, just to name one example.
NOW, THEREFORE, on Patriots Day, fourteen years later, it is fitting to remember this national tragedy and to earnestly pray that no such terrorist attack is repeated on U.S. soil.
BE IT RESOLVED, that Friday, September 11, 2015, be set aside to encourage the citizens of Washington State to visit their places of worship to participate in a statewide Day of Prayer and Fasting to honor those who lost their lives at Ground Zero in New York City, in Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. God will hear our prayers according to His Word.
SPONSORS:
James Autry, Executive Director of Serving Our Neighbors & Christian Chamber of Commerce of the Northwest
Kathie Cassady, Daniels Prayer Ministry, President, and former NDP WA State & Regional Coordinator
Barbara Ingmire, National Day of Prayer Task Force, National Area Leader, WA, CA and HI Coordinator; and WA State Reformation Prayer Network Coordinator
Rosie Phillips, WA State Coordinator, Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network
Diana Wakefield, Pray Washington
Virginia L Chapman, Church Awakening, Prayer Coordinator
Susan Johnsen, National Governors Prayer Team/Regional and WA State Coordinator
Ken Ramey, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, NW Field Representative | My Hope Department
California Day of Repentance - Wednesday, September 9th
Oregon Day of Repentance - Thursday, September 10th
