By By Lee Weyhrich
May 5 has been set aside as a national day of prayer.
It is supposed to be a day for praying for our leaders and government officials.
"This is just something that goes on every year, but I'm not sure if Atmore has ever been connected to it," Atmore's prayer event organizer Joanne Moore said. "It goes back before the founding of the country."
In fact the prayer day goes back to the first Continental Congress. This is the first year it will be organized in Tom Byrne Park.
"The Continental Congress set aside a day of prayer in 1775," Moore said. "In 1952, Congress set an annual day of prayer. In 1988, the law was amended designating the national day of prayer as the first Third of May, which this year is May 5."
This is the first year Atmore has had a program for the day of prayer.
"I'm not sure there's ever been anything connected to the national day for Atmore, but we are going to have something coordinated for it this year," Moore said. "We're going to have a prayer walk. Anytime during the day on May 5 people can come out to Tom Byrne Park and walk the track. We will have signs along the track that say things like 'pray for our state government' and then it will have a list of officials."
The three main signs will say "Pray for our nation", "Pray for our state" and "Pray for our community."
"One of the goals of the national day of prayer is to help encourage our national government leaders by praying for them regardless of their political leaning," Moore said. "It's not to lobby, criticize or promote any political agenda. We have volunteers from Home School Kids and Co. that are helping to make this possible"
As a nation founded on the principals of Christianity it is important to pray for the people in power, Moore said.
"I think it says in 1 Timothy to pray for those in authority over us," Moore said. "At noon there will be a led prayer for everyone. Wesley Channell will lead a collective prayer reading by Max Lucado. He will read and the group will respond."
The prayer will take place at noon.
"I'm just leading a responsive prayer," Channell said. "It's by Max Lucado a very famous Christian writer. You can come all day and pray any time from dawn to dusk. We'll have a joint prayer at noon.
The prayer walk is open to the community and is not to promote any political party or official.
"There is no political agenda. It's just to try to encourage and lift up those that have to make all these big decisions," Moore said.