STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

Office of the Governor

A Proclamation

By

Governor Kirk Fordice

Whereas, in 1995, we again 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, the Constitution of the State of Mississippi states: “We the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work, do ordain and establish this Constitution…no preference shall be given by law to any religious sect or mode of worship; but the free enjoyment of all religious sentiments and the different modes of worship shall be held sacred. The rights hereby secured shall not be construed to justify acts of licentiousness injurious to morals or dangerous to the peace and safety of the State, or to exclude the Holy Bible from use in any public school of this State”; 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 the 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, let us now refrain from excluding from our teachings, our textbooks and our thoughts the importance of religious values and activities in America’s private, public, and political life; and

Whereas, may 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”

Now, therefore, I, Kirk Fordice, Governor of the State of Mississippi, hereby proclaim Thanksgiving Week, November 19 through November 25, 1995, CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK in the State of Mississippi and encourage our citizens to join in remembering that individual faith is the power that inspires men of goodwill to lay foundations and to pursue noble goals for themselves and for their country. God bless the citizens of the State of Mississippi, and God bless the United States of America.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Mississippi to be affixed.

DONE in the City of Jackson, April 13, 1995, in the two hundred and nineteenth year of the United States of America.

 KIRK FORDICE

 GOVERNOR