Bill Text: MN HR3 | 2015-2016 | 89th Legislature | Draft
Bill Title: A house resolution recognizing the first Thursday in May as a day of prayer, fasting, and repentance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2016-05-04 - Referred to Rules and Legislative Administration [HR3 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2015-HR3-Draft.html
1.1A House resolution
1.2recognizing the first Thursday in May as a day of statewide prayer, fasting, and
1.3repentance in Minnesota.
1.4WHEREAS, the citizens of the state of Minnesota have roots in many cultures, with nearly
1.5every nationality represented, and honor a variety of religious traditions; and
1.6WHEREAS, the history of our state is replete with leaders who voluntarily called upon
1.7God, whether the need was great or small; and
1.8WHEREAS, civic and national days of prayer have a long and venerable history in our
1.9constitutional republic, dating back to the First Continental Congress in 1775; and
1.10WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence, our first statement of national purpose and
1.11identity as Americans, made "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God" the foundation of our
1.12United States of America and asserted that people have inalienable rights that are God-given; and
1.13WHEREAS, in 1988, legislation setting aside the first Thursday in May in each year as a
1.14National Day of Prayer was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed by the
1.15President; and
1.16WHEREAS, the National Day of Prayer is an opportunity for Americans of all faiths to
1.17join in united prayer to acknowledge our dependence on God's grace, to give thanks for blessings
1.18received, to request healing for wounds endured, and to ask God to guide our leaders, bless our
1.19troops, and bring wholeness to the United States and its citizens; and
2.1WHEREAS, May 5, 2016, marks the 65th consecutive observance of the National Day
2.2of Prayer in cities and towns throughout the United States and provides us with a powerful
2.3opportunity to humble ourselves; and
2.4WHEREAS, this year we continue to pray for American armed services members and
2.5their families; and
2.6WHEREAS, in his 1863 proclamation of a national day of prayer, President Abraham
2.7Lincoln noted that the Congress had called upon him to appoint such a day "devoutly recognizing
2.8the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of
2.9nations"; and
2.10WHEREAS, Lincoln noted further in his proclamation that "It is the duty of nations as well
2.11as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins
2.12and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead
2.13to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and
2.14proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is Lord..."; and
2.15WHEREAS, Lincoln noted further in his proclamation that "We have been the recipients
2.16of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years in peace and
2.17prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But
2.18we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and
2.19multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness
2.20of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our
2.21own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity
2.22of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us
2.23then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power to confess our national sins and to pray for
2.24clemency and forgiveness"; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.25BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota that it
2.26affirms the sentiments of President Lincoln and commends them to Minnesotans to be applied to
2.27their daily lives and that it recognizes May 5, 2016, as a Day of Prayer in the state of Minnesota
2.28and commends this observance to all citizens.
2.29BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives is
2.30directed to prepare an enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by his signature and
2.31that of the Speaker, and transmit it to the National Prayer Committee.
1.2recognizing the first Thursday in May as a day of statewide prayer, fasting, and
1.3repentance in Minnesota.
1.4WHEREAS, the citizens of the state of Minnesota have roots in many cultures, with nearly
1.5every nationality represented, and honor a variety of religious traditions; and
1.6WHEREAS, the history of our state is replete with leaders who voluntarily called upon
1.7God, whether the need was great or small; and
1.8WHEREAS, civic and national days of prayer have a long and venerable history in our
1.9constitutional republic, dating back to the First Continental Congress in 1775; and
1.10WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence, our first statement of national purpose and
1.11identity as Americans, made "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God" the foundation of our
1.12United States of America and asserted that people have inalienable rights that are God-given; and
1.13WHEREAS, in 1988, legislation setting aside the first Thursday in May in each year as a
1.14National Day of Prayer was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed by the
1.15President; and
1.16WHEREAS, the National Day of Prayer is an opportunity for Americans of all faiths to
1.17join in united prayer to acknowledge our dependence on God's grace, to give thanks for blessings
1.18received, to request healing for wounds endured, and to ask God to guide our leaders, bless our
1.19troops, and bring wholeness to the United States and its citizens; and
2.1WHEREAS, May 5, 2016, marks the 65th consecutive observance of the National Day
2.2of Prayer in cities and towns throughout the United States and provides us with a powerful
2.3opportunity to humble ourselves; and
2.4WHEREAS, this year we continue to pray for American armed services members and
2.5their families; and
2.6WHEREAS, in his 1863 proclamation of a national day of prayer, President Abraham
2.7Lincoln noted that the Congress had called upon him to appoint such a day "devoutly recognizing
2.8the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of
2.9nations"; and
2.10WHEREAS, Lincoln noted further in his proclamation that "It is the duty of nations as well
2.11as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins
2.12and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead
2.13to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and
2.14proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is Lord..."; and
2.15WHEREAS, Lincoln noted further in his proclamation that "We have been the recipients
2.16of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years in peace and
2.17prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But
2.18we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and
2.19multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness
2.20of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our
2.21own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity
2.22of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us
2.23then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power to confess our national sins and to pray for
2.24clemency and forgiveness"; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.25BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota that it
2.26affirms the sentiments of President Lincoln and commends them to Minnesotans to be applied to
2.27their daily lives and that it recognizes May 5, 2016, as a Day of Prayer in the state of Minnesota
2.28and commends this observance to all citizens.
2.29BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives is
2.30directed to prepare an enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by his signature and
2.31that of the Speaker, and transmit it to the National Prayer Committee.
