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MINNEAPOLIS –Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council (MFC), today applauded Governor Pawlenty for signing a prayer proclamation in conjunction with the annual National Day of Prayer on May 1st.
‘This is a welcome change from the last four years of repeated refusals by Governor Ventura to signing the proclamation. At one point Governor Ventura was the only governor in the nation not to sign a prayer proclamation,” said Prichard. “Governor Pawlenty’s signing of the prayer proclamation recognizes the vital role faith and prayer plays in our state.” Prichard continued, “The foundational document of our state government, our Minnesota state Constitution acknowledges that God is the source of our liberties and blessings. The signing of the proclamation is simply a reaffirmation of this truth by our state’s leaders.” The Minnesota Constitution Preamble states in part, “We, the people of the state of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings and secure the same to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution.” The prayer proclamation tradition dates back to February 19, 1795 when President Washington issued a proclamation for a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. The purpose of a prayer proclamation was stated by Abraham Lincoln when he said in his 1861 prayer proclamation, “[I]t is fit and becoming in all people, at all times, to acknowledge and revere the Supreme Government of God.” “In a time of difficult budget decisions and international turmoil, it’s all the more important to acknowledge the importance of and need for prayer in our state and nation,” concluded Prichard. |
The Minnesota Family Council is Minnesota's largest nonprofit, non-partisan pro-family organization.
Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota Family Institute
2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, www.mfc.org