There have been people in Moffat County coming together to participate in the National Day of Prayer for a number of years, and this year the day will be observed at two venues in Craig to invite more people to join in prayer.

At their Tuesday meeting, the Moffat County Commissioners proclaimed May 5 — the first Thursday in May — to be the Moffat County Day of Prayer.

Julie Grobe and Loretta Earle presented the proclamation to the County Commissioners. This year will be the first year the National Day of Prayer will be observed at two different locations in Craig.

This year’s event will be from noon to 1 p.m. May 5 at both the courthouse and the New Creation Church with a livestream. The event at the church will be helpful for senior community members to be inside in case there is inclement weather. This is the first year the event will be back at the courthouse since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We feel like it needs to be at the courthouse again, so that people can see it and know that this county believes in prayer,” Grobe said.

The prayer day has historically been on the courthouse lawn, where 150-170 people would gather to pray. Once COVID-19 hit, the observance was moved to the New Creations Church on the west side of Craig.

During the quarantine, the prayer day was hosted as a Facebook Live event for local community members and attracted participants from 20 states, as well as a few from overseas. Grobe said many people couldn’t go out for the day of prayer during quarantine so they were able to join with the virtual event in Craig.

Many people have since reached out to Grobe and the event organizers asking that the prayer day be held in person at the courthouse once again. Since the virtual event was so successful, the organizers decided this year they would host the prayer day at both venues.

Grobe explained that the National Day of Prayer was first observed in the 1950s, and was first proclaimed by President Harry S. Truman on July 4, 1952. Every year since then, Americans across the nation have observed the National Day of Prayer in their own way.

President Ronald Reagan moved the National Day of Prayer to the first Thursday in May, and it has been proclaimed nationally every year since then. According to Grobe, this is the eighth year the Moffat County Commissioners have completed a proclamation for Moffat County Prayer Day.

Here in Moffat County, the Day of Prayer has been observed locally for many years. Grobe said that fellow Christian and late Moffat County resident Myrtle (Myrt) Stagner first got her involved with it.

The two would get together on the national day and pray. From there, more and more people started getting involved.

“We just decided that on the National Day of Prayer, someone should be praying on that day,” Grobe said.

Anyone who wishes to attend can join in the Day of Prayer. There will be fourteen prayer leaders, including nine pastors who will be praying at the two locations. Prayer leaders will be praying for each of the seven pillars of society; family, media and arts, business, education, healthcare, government, and religion- and service-based organizations.

Each year there is a different passage chosen for the National Day of Prayer to focus on. This year the passage is, “Exalt the Lord who has established us.”

For more information on the National Day of Prayer and different ways to participate, visit NationalDayofPrayer.org.