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Below is a resolution introduced in the United States Senate on March 2, 1863 by Senator James Harlan of Iowa, whose daughter married President Lincoln's son Robert. The Resolution asked President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of prayer and fasting. The Resolution was adopted on March 3, 1863, and signed by Lincoln on March 30, 1863. With the change of just a few words, it reads as though written today.
President Abraham Lincoln Proclamation for National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer
. WHEREAS, The Senate of the United States; devoutly recognizing the Supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation. AND WHEREAS, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. And, insomuch as we know that, by His Divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People. We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion. All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope, authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh. Abraham Lincoln, President William H Seward, Secretary of State Source: The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler.
"Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere." . . .From a speech made by Abraham Lincoln on September 11, 1858 at Edwardsville, Illinois

My pastor remembered hearing the following simple, yet profoundly patriotic commentary by the legendary entertainer, Red Skelton, and told us about it. After a brief search, we found many website pages containing it in various forms. After listening to the original audio, we believe this to be the most accurate and complete text. In light of the current time in our history, we believe it is worth passing along for our generation to reflect on.
All materials posted below are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

	Though probably most remembered for his many clown personae, Richard "Red" Skelton was a man of many interests and accomplishments. He wrote many beautiful symphonies, was a painter of renown, and he truly loved his country as evidenced by the following excerpt from his television show. Source: Red Skelton Hour, CBS January 14, 1969 Published: January 14, 1969 Author: Red Skelton
Red Skelton's Commentary on 'The Pledge of Allegiance'
"Getting back to school, I remember a teacher that I had. Now I only went, I went through the seventh grade. I left home when I was 10 years old because I was hungry. (laughter here from both Red and the audience) And ... this is true. I worked in the summer and went to school in the winter. But, I had this one teacher, he was the principal of the Harrison school, in Vincennes, Indiana. To me, this was the greatest teacher, a real sage of ... of my time, anyhow. He had such wisdom. We were all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance one day, and he walked over. This little old teacher ... Mr. Lasswell was his name. He said: "I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester, and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?
I - - Me; an individual; a committee of one. Pledge - - Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity. Allegiance - - My love and my devotion. To the Flag - - Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job. United - - That means that we have all come together. States - - Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country. And to the Republic - - Republic--a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people. For which it stands One Nation - - One Nation--meaning, so blessed by God. Indivisible - - Incapable of being divided. With Liberty - - Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation. And Justice - - The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others. For All - - For All--which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance: I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools, too?
"Good Night, and May God Bless"
Note: This was Red's closing remark for each of his television shows, but it is still so very appropriate. Oh, that more of our current entertainers had the same backbone and conviction! Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 - Sept 17, 1997)
If you decide to "just pass this on" to your friends and your email lists (and we know so very many of you will, given the number of our own original CHAPEL pages which come back to us regularly as forwards), please be considerate enough to include the appropriate copyright info as well. Source: Red Skelton Hour, CBS January 14, 1969 Published: January 14, 1969 Author: Red Skelton
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But we have forgotten God.

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.