Topics: Christian Heritage Week

Illinois 1999

 

STATE OF ILLINOIS

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, the Preamble of the Constitution of the State of Illinois states that the People of the State of Illinois are “grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He has permitted us to enjoy and seeking His blessing upon our endeavors;” and

WHEREAS, the Constitution of Illinois guarantees freedom of religious speech and worship to all citizens; and

WHEREAS, Illinois is richly blessed in natural beauty and natural resources, reflecting its natural beauty; and

WHEREAS, the week of Thanksgiving is an appropriate time to center attention on our thanks to God for His great and good providence and for one’s faith, which is part of Illinois’ history.

THEREFORE, I George H. Ryan, Governor of the State of Illinois proclaim November 21-27, 1999, as CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK in Illinois.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and  caused the Great Seal of the State of Illinois to be affixed.

Done at the Capitol in the City of Springfield this twentieth day of October, in the Year of Our Lord one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, and of the State of Illinois the one hundred and EIGHTY-FIRST.

GEORGE H. RYAN

GOVERNOR

JESSE WHITT

SECRETARY OF STATE

New Hampshire 1999

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

BY HER EXCELLENCY

JEANNE SHAHEEN, GOVERNOR

A PROCLAMATION

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WEEK

NOVEMBER 21-27, 1999

 

WHEREAS, New Hampshire wishes to join with states in acknowledging the importance of religious freedom; and

WHEREAS, freedom of religion is the first guaranteed protection in the Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, this constitutional protection states, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and

WHEREAS, George Washington declared, “Just government protects all in their religious rights,” and that “true religion affords to government its surest support,” and

WHEREAS, James Madison declared that “the civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or any pretext, infringed;” and

WHEREAS, the Constitution of New Hampshire states that “Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience and reason;”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEANNE SHAHEEN, GOVERNOR, of the State of New Hampshire, do hereby proclaim NOVEMBER 21st through NOVEMBER 27th, 1999 as RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WEEK in New Hampshire and urge all citizens to participate fittingly in its observance.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Concord, this fifteenth day of  September, in the year of Our Lord, one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine, and of the independence of the United States of America, two hundred and twenty-three.

JEANNE SHAHEEN

GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

West Virginia 1999

Proclamation

By Governor Cecil H. Underwood

WHEREAS,  the Preamble to the Constitution of West Virginia declares, “Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia … reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God…”; and,

WHEREAS,  the Constitution of West Virginia guarantees freedom of religious speech and worship to all citizens; and,

WHEREAS,  West Virginia is richly blessed in natural beauty and natural resources, reflecting God’s miracle of creation; and,

WHEREAS, steadfast faith sustained our Mountaineer forefathers’ survival through years of hardship, isolation and suffering; and,

WHEREAS, the week of Thanksgiving is an appropriate time to center attention on our thanks to Almighty God for His great and good Providence and for the Christian faith, which is part of West Virginia’s and America’s great history;

Now, Therefore, Be it Resolved that I, Cecil H. Underwood, Governor of the State of West Virginia, do hereby proclaim November 21-27, 1999, as Christian Heritage Week in the Mountain State  and encourage all citizens to acknowledge, appreciate and celebrate each in their own way the heritage of our great state and nation where our motto is Mountaineers are Always Free.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of West Virginia to be affixed.

Done at the Capitol, City of Charleston, State of West Virginia, this the First day of July, in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-nine and in the One Hundred Thirty-seventh year of the State.

Cecil H. Underwood

Governor

By the Governor

Ken Hechler

Secretary of State

New Jersey 1999

State of New Jersey

Executive Department

Proclamation

WHEREAS, during 1999, we reflect on the goals set forth in past years to understand and recapture our Christian Heritage and to reestablish our original freedom of religious concepts; and

WHEREAS, we are reminded of the words of James Madison, who in 1778 stated, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future…upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God”; and

WHEREAS, George Washington stated, “It is duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection, aid, and favors”; and

WHEREAS, we also remember the words in the Declaration of Independence, when the Framers noted, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor”; and

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving week is an appropriate time to center attention on thanks to Almighty God for the “Blessings of Liberty,” to ask his help in reinsuring “domestic Tranquility,” and to recognize our national need to reaffirm our “reliance on the protection of divine Providence” in keeping America a “Free and Independent” Nation;

NOW, THEREFORE, I CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, Governor of the State of New Jersey, do hereby proclaim

NOVEMBER 21 TO NOVEMBER 27, 1999

as

AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK

in New Jersey, and encourage our citizens to join in remembering that individual faith is in the power that inspires men of good will to lay foundations and to pursue noble goals for themselves and for their country.

GIVEN, under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey, this twenty-eighth day of October in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine and of the Independence of the United States, the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

Christine Whitman

Governor

BY THE GOVERNOR:

DeFOREST B. SOARIES, JR.,

SECRETARY OF STATE

Nebraska 1999

STATE OF NEBRASKA

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, The Preamble to the Constitution of the State of Nebraska states that “We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, do ordain and establish the following declaration of rights and frame of government;” and

WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin, at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, stated: “It is impossible to build an empire without our Father’s aid. I believe the sacred writings which say that ‘Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it’” (Psalm 127:1); and

WHEREAS, George Washington enunciated: “animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, and conducting ourselves as the faithful subjects of our free government, we may enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity;” and

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote: “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?;” and

WHEREAS, James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution, advocated “the diffusion of the light of Christianity in our nation” in his Memorial and Remonstrance; and

WHEREAS, George Mason, in his Virginia Declaration of Rights, forerunner to our U.S. Bill of Rights, affirmed “that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other;” and

WHEREAS, These and many other truly great men and women of America, giants in the structuring of American history, were Christian statesmen of caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their faith.

NOW, THEREFORE,  I, Mike Johanns, Governor of the State of Nebraska, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM the week of November 21st through the 27th, 1999, as CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK in Nebraska, and I do hereby urge all citizens to take due note of the observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand, and cause the Great Seal of the State of Nebraska to be affixed this Twenty-Fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine.

Mike Johanns

Governor

Scott Moore

Secretary of State

New Mexico 1999

STATE OF NEW MEXICO EXECUTIVE OFFICE SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

Proclamation

WHEREAS,THE CITIZENS OF NEW MEXICO CHOOSE TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEMORATE THE CHRISTIAN HERITAGE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND NEW MEXICO; AND

WHEREAS,THE CHRISTIAN HERITGAE OF OUR NATION IS RECOGNIZED IN THE ACCOMLISHMENTS OF SUCH RENOWNED INDIVIDUALS AS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, WILLIAM BRADFORD, GEORGE WASHINGTON, JOHN HANCOCK, ABIGAIL ADAMS, NOAH WEBSTER, ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND WOODROW WILSON; AND

WHEREAS,TEACHING CHILDNRE ABOUT THE HISTORICAL CHRISTIAN HERITAGE OF OUR NATION FROM ITS DISCOVERY AND CONCEPTION TO ITS CONITNUAL APPLICATION IS EDUCATIONAL AND VIRTUOUS; AND

WHEREAS,THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS TO BE FULLY EDUCATED AS TO THE CHRISTIAN HERITAGE OF OUR NATION AND NEW MEXICO IS RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES AND NEW MEXICO AS A VOLUNTARY EXERCISE OF THE FREEDOM OF EDUCATIONSAL CHOICE; AND

WHEREAS,THE CHRISTIAN FAITH HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY DOCUMENTED AS A FOUNDATIONAL INFLUENCE OF THE INCEPTION, FORMATION, STRUCTURE AND CULTURE OF OUR NATION AND OF OUR STATE;

NOW, THEREFORE I,GARY E. JOHNSON, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM THE 7THTHROUGH THE 13THOF NOVEMBER 1999 AS

“CHRISTIAN

HERITAGE WEEK” 

THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO.

DONE AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE  THIS 27THDAY OF OCTOBER, 1999.  WITNESS MY HAND AND THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

ATTEST:

REBECCA VIGIL-GIRON

SECRETARY OF STATE

 

GARY E. JOHNSON

GOVERNOR

Virginia 1998

Virginia

CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION

 

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution in the Governor of the

Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

 AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK

WHEREAS, religious freedom is recognized as a fundamental right of citizenship in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Virginia is the birthplace of men such as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and Patrick Henry, who fought for and secured the freedom of conscience; and

WHEREAS, great men of faith, such as George Washington, Roger Sherman and John Quincy Adams served in American government not only to preserve and protect private morality but to encourage national happiness through religious principle; and

WHEREAS, the principles of liberty, justice and equality before the law, as well as the very structure of representative government, are rooted in Christianity and prove the indispensable nature of the faith in the history of our Commonwealth and our nation; and

WHEREAS,  during this week, all citizens are urged to remember that America’s Christian heritage is essential to define our spiritual and structural foundation and to ensure liberty in the United States;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, James S. Gilmore, III, do hereby recognize the week of November 22-28 as AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

James S. Gilmore, III 

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Anne P. Petera

Secretary of the Commonwealth

Pennsylvania 1998

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Governor’s Office

Proclamation

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK

November 22 – 28, 1998

 WHEREAS, The Preamble to the Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania states that “We, the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution;” and

 WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin, at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 stated: “It is impossible to build an empire without our Father’s aid. I believe the sacred writings which say that ‘Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it’ (Psalm 127:1);” and

 WHEREAS, George Washington enunciated: “animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, and conducing ourselves as the faithful subjects of our free government, we may enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity;” and

 WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote: “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction of these liberties are the gift of God?” and

 WHEREAS, James Madison, father of the U.S. Constitution, advocated “the diffusion of the light of Christianity in our nation” in his Memorial and Remonstrance; and

 WHEREAS, Patrick Henry quoted Proverbs 14:34 for our nation: “Righteousness alone can exalt a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people;” and

 WHEREAS, George Mason, in his Virginia Declaration of Rights, forerunner of our U.S. Bill of Rights, affirmed: “That it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other;” and

 WHEREAS, these and many other truly great men and women of America, giants in the structuring of American history, were statesmen of caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their faith.

 THEREFORE, I, Tom Ridge, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do hereby proclaim November 22 – 28, 1998, as CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK in Pennsylvania.

 GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the Governor, at the City of Harrisburg, on this twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight and of the Commonwealth the two hundred and twenty-third.

 TOM RIDGE

 Governor

South Carolina 1998

State of South Carolina

Proclamation

By

Governor David M. Beasley

WHEREAS, at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 Benjamin Franklin stated that “It is impossible to build an empire without our Father’s aid. I believe the sacred writings which say that ‘Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it,’” (Psalm 127:1); and

WHEREAS, we each have been richly blessed by The Almighty whose divine providence our founding fathers sought as they established these United States of America as a free and independent nation: and

WHEREAS, the contributions of faith and traditions of our people are often reflected in the prayers offered preceding each day’s opening of the General Assembly of this state and the United States Congress; and

WHEREAS, the importance of our Christian heritage to the institutions, values and vision of our nation is immeasurable; and

WHEREAS, our Christian heritage is further reflected by our people and our leaders, past and present, in our individual and collective efforts as a nation of peacekeepers and peacemakers to provide for other people, both in America and abroad, by providing humanitarian assistance to our fellow men, women and children.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, David M. Beasley, Governor of the Great State of South Carolina, do hereby proclaim March 15-21, 1998 as

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK

in South Carolina.

David M. Beasley

Governor

State of South Carolina

Indiana 1998

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

INDIANAPOLIS

PROCLAMATION

Executive Order

To All To Whom These Presents May Come, Greeting:

WHEREAS, the Preamble to the constitution of the State of Indiana states that “We, the people of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our own form of government, do ordain this Constitution;” and

WHEREAS, Benjamin Franklin, at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 stated: “It is impossible to build an empire without our Father’s aid. I believe the sacred writings that say that ‘Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it’ (Psalm 127:1)”; and

WHEREAS, George Washington said: “animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, and conducting ourselves as the faithful subjects of our free government, we may enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity”; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote: “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed the conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”; and

WHEREAS, these and many other truly great men and women of the United States, giants in the structuring of American history, were Christian statesmen of caliber and integrity who did not hesitate to express their faith;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANK O’BANNON, Governor of the State of Indiana, do hereby proclaim the week of November 22 – 28, 1998, as

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK

in the State of Indiana, and invite all Hoosiers to take due note of the observance.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Indiana at the Capitol in Indianapolis on this 6th day of February, 1998.

BY THE GOVERNOR:

Frank O’Bannon

Governor of Indiana

ATTEST:

Sue Anne Gilroy

Secretary of State