Two municipalities in Beaufort County are preparing to offer a series of prayer for issues facing the nation, as well as local, state and federal leaders.

The 64^th annual National Day of Prayer will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Washington Municipal Building in Washington; Belhaven will have an observance, starting at noon at the Belhaven Open-Air Market across from the Chamber of Commerce. This year’s theme is “Lord, Here Our Plea.”

According to the National Day of Prayer website, the National Day of Prayer, was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The observance invites people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. It also represents Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on the understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible, the website said.

Last year, Washington Mayor Mac Hodges proclaimed May 1 as a Day of Prayer in Washington. However, the national observance is allotted for the first Thursday in May of each year.

“This is a national day participated with by people who just pay attention to the national situation,” said Frank Belore, chairman of the event’s committee. “The same thing will be going on in communities all over the country.”

In Washington, the observance will start with the sounding of the shofar by Grover Sawyer, a Washington resident. The shofar is a hollowed ram’s horn of ancient origin used for Jewish religious ceremonies, according to Belote.

“It indicates that God’s people should pay attention and listen,” Belote said.

The National Day of Prayer Committee has invited county and city government officials, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Beaufort County judicial officials, minister and laypersons from local churches and others, some of which will offer specific prayers for different issues facing the nation, as well as prayers for local, state and federal leaders, Belote said.

“The bible says that the prayers of righteous men availeth much, and we believe that is true,” Belote said. “If we can get people to pray for our country with us, God will listen, and it will make a difference.”

Team Coalition, made up of six local churches in Belhaven, is working with White Plains Ministries Church member Gloria Rogers to coordinate Belhaven’s observance this year, Rogers said. Rogers has coordinated the event for the past several years and hopes everyone will join in praying. A special prayer will be included this year for Pungo District Hospital and the rural healthcare situation in America. Belhaven Mayor Adam O’Neal will read a proclamation and offer prayer for the United States government and the president, followed by a series of prayers by different local ministers and pastors, Rogers said. Among the prayers will be: for the North Carolina governor by Dave Reeves; for the president of the nation and for the world by Wilbur Smith of New Hope Pentecostal Faith Church of Terra Ceia; for children by Father Jim Lupton; for the education system and teachers by Evangelist Wilhelmina Hawks; for the Belhaven hospital and rural hospital across the nation by Elder Verna Whitney of Mount Olive Pentecostal Faith Church; and for the mayor of Belhaven and local government by Pastor Burke Holland.

Following the prayers, Pastor Kris Noble will give a 15-minute message on the theme of the observance.

“I think it’s a monumental event, and we have been given the opportunity to pray about our issues here in America and pray for one another,” Rogers said. “I just think prayer works, and it’s a good thing—corporate prayer works, as well as individual prayer. When people get together to raise their voices to God to cry out to him for help, he will surely answer.”

For more information on National Day of Prayer, visit http://nationaldayofprayer.org.