25th Annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast

AUGUSTA, ME (05/02/2016)(readMedia)-- Brig. Gen. Douglas A. Farnham, the Adjutant General for the Maine National Guard, is pleased to announce that Thursday, May 5, 2016 from 6:45 – 8:30 a.m. the Maine National Guard will host the 25th Annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast at the Augusta Armory, 179 Western Ave, Augusta, ME 04330.

Ric Tyler, co-host of the George Hale / Ric Tyler show on the Voice of Maine is the guest speaker.

Special musical performance by the Belfast High School Acapella choir.

The Maine National Guard Prayer Breakfast was instituted 25 years ago in order to celebrate this day, in the spirit that was intended: to encourage prayer, build understanding among faiths, and to acknowledge God's role in our respective and collective lives.

The annual patriotic event celebrates the diversity of all faiths and works to build understanding and unity.

The concept of a day of prayer dates back to the Continental Congress). President Truman signed a congressional bill that mandated that each subsequent President designate a National Day of Prayer at his/her discretion. President Ronald Reagan's 1983 proclamation stated that the two primary intentions of that day "were that it would be a day when adherents of all great religions could unite in prayer and that it may one day bring renewed respect for God to all the peoples of the world." Later, in 1988, Congress set the annual observance as being the first Thursday in May.

The Prayer Breakfast is not a religious service, it is a spiritually based patriotic ceremony welcoming of all faiths and promoting our mutual respect for each other and our thankfulness for God's presence in our lives.

The cost of the breakfast for those who choose to eat is $10 per person.

Media interested in covering the event should contact Sgt. 1st Class Peter Morrison at (207) 430-5322, or email ng.me.mearng.list.public-affairs@mail.mil. Doors open at 6:45 a.m. Ceremony begins at 7:00 a.m.