Obama Declares Three Days of 'Prayer and Remembrance' for 9/11

Religion Today | Updated: Sep 10, 2012

Obama Declares Three Days of 'Prayer and Remembrance' for 9/11

President Obama on Friday didn't declare just one national day of prayer and remembrance in honor of 9/11 -- he declared three, CNSNews.com reports. In a presidential proclamation from the White House, Obama called on Americans to spend Friday through Sunday, Sept. 7-9, in "prayer, contemplation, memorial services, the visiting of memorials, the ringing in of bells, evening candlelight remembrance vigils and other appropriate ceremonies and activities" to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. Obama went on to say: "On September 11, 2001, in our hour of grief, a nation came together. No matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family. This weekend, as we honor the memory of those we have lost, let us summon that spirit once more. Let us renew our sense of common purpose. And let us reaffirm the bond we share as a people: that out of many, we are one." Ironically, the president's proclamation capped a week in which religious topics came to the forefront of the Democratic National Convention. Three times Democratic delegates shouted "No!" on amendment Wednesday to reinsert "God" into the text of the 2012 party platform and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a day after delegates voted to drop any reference of God from the platform.



Obama Declares Three Days of 'Prayer and Remembrance' for 9/11