Thursday, May 1, will mark the nation’s 63rd observance of the National Day of Prayer.

The national day of prayer (NDP) dates back to 1775, when the Continental Congress made a proclamation to set aside a day for prayer on behalf of the nation. In 1952, Congress established an annual day of prayer and, in 1988, that law was amended, designating the National Day of Prayer as the first Thursday in May.

The annual event encourages the people of this nation to unite in prayer for the nation one day each year, each in accordance with their own faith.

A Christian observance of the 2014 NDP will be held May 1 in The Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street. It will start with music from 6 to 7 pm, and prayers for the nation from 7 to 8 pm. All are welcome who would like to pray for the nation, the state, and Newtown together in a biblical context.

The theme for this year’s main event will be “One Voice, United in Prayer” based on the New Testament letter of Paul to the Romans 15:6. It will focus prayer on seven major areas of influence: government, church, military, family, education, media, and business.

The evening will feature contemporary and traditional worship music from 6 to 7 pm by Newtown area musicians Bob Russell, Ted Hartlett, Donna Budd, Denise Delmonte, and others.

An exhortation to prayer will be given by the Reverend Gabrielle Beam of Mary at Bethany Church in Norwalk and Rev Christopher Leighton of St Paul’s Church in Darien, who have co-founded the Connecticut House of Prayer to encourage united intercessory prayer across the state of Connecticut and beyond.

Also giving an exhortation to prayer will be a group of students from Newtown High School who regularly meet together for prayer and Bible study.

This will be followed by active participation of those attending to break into smaller groups to pray for specific areas of national concern.

The evening is being coordinated by a small group of Newtown residents from various area churches using the themes and guidelines of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a private Christian organization that works to encourage locally run National Day of Prayer gatherings across the nation.

Last year, public National Day of Prayer events were held in every city and town in Connecticut. This year NDP events are planned at more than 42,000 locations across the nation.

For additional information contact Bob Andrejczyk at 203-270-1888 or ander55bus-1@yahoo.com.