Churches throughout the City of Taylor celebrate National Prayer Day at noon on the first Thursday of May each year with an annual gathering in the Cameron Priebe Plaza in the City Hall complex.
The National Day of Prayer has a lengthy history. It was first declared by the Continental Congress in 1775. President Abraham Lincoln called for a day of fasting and prayer during the Civil War, and President Franklin Roosevelt has a national call to prayer on radio in 1944. Eventually, a bill declaring a National Prayer Day was passed by Congress in 1952 and fixed the celebration on the first Thursday in May in 1988. Forty thousand related events were held in 2001.
This is a non-denominational event that in 2016 included speeches by Bishop Gary Harper, Greater Grace Temple; Pastor Phillip Nissley, New Hope Assembly of God; Clint Cozier, Southminster Presbyterian Church; Pastor Darius Walden, Heritage Park Church of God; Paster Ariel Roldan, Oakwood Seventh-Day Adventist; Rev. John Martin, Beaumont Hospital Chaplain; Pastor Cliff Molnar, Victory Center Ministries; Fr. Leo Sabourin, St. Constance Church; Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Drutchas, St. Paul United Church of Chirst; Pastor Bill Fix, Journey of Hope Community Church; and Paster Ryan Bettinger, Northline Church. Other speakers included Mayor Rick Sollars, City Clerk Cindy Bower and former Taylor Schools Assistant Supt. Teresa Winnie.