National Day of Prayer events throughout the Southland

It's National Day of Prayer Thursday May 4 and events are planned throughout Los Angeles County.

President Harry S. Truman signed a bill in 1952 proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each subsequent president at an appropriate date of his choice. President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law in 1988 setting the National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday in May.

The 2023 theme for the National Day of Prayer is, "Pray Fervently In Righteousness And Avail Much."

Glendora, Paramount and Burbank city halls will participate in public prayers for the nation.

Pastors from several churches will lead prayers at noon on the South Lawn of Los Angeles City Hall. Prayer guides will be provided and bring a chair if you prefer to sit.

On the Glendora City Hall front lawn, pastors from various Glendora churches and their congregations will pray for the nation and community from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

Paramount Mayor Isabel Aguayo and other city officials are scheduled to speak and pray at an event beginning at 12:10 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial next to City Hall.

The event outside Burbank City Hall will be from noon to 1 p.m.

Other events planned for Los Angeles County include a prayer meeting at 11:30 a.m. at Calvary Church West Hills, various prayers for areas of influence will be made, special music will be played and a lesson from Pastor George E. Hurtt on prayer will be given at Mt. Sinai Church in South Los Angeles at noon and 7:15 p.m. and the Lakewood Village Community Church in Long Beach will conduct a National Day of Prayer service at 7 p.m.

In Orange County, prayer gatherings are planned for the Newport Beach and Laguna Beach city halls at noon and the Huntington Beach City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

There will be 20 minutes of prayer time around the flagpoles of the Betty Lou Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange beginning at noon. A one-hour prayer meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Florence Joyner Olympiad Park in Mission Viejo.

In 2010, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled the law establishing the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional because it was "an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function."

The ruling was unanimously overturned by a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling that the plaintiff, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, did not have standing to sue because the National Day of Prayer had not caused it harm and "a feeling of alienation cannot suffice as injury."