National Day of Prayer ceremonies take center stage

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	Bloomingdale Mayor Bob Iden gives the blessing as community and religious leaders gather Thursday morning at the Glendale Lakes Golf Club in Glendale Heights for the 62nd annual National Day of Prayer.   Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer
	Keynote speaker Rev. David Sitler from the Glen Ellyn Seventh-day Adventist Church chats with hospital chaplain Debra Hill at Thursday's National Day of Prayer breakfast in Glendale Heights.   Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer
	To honor fallen firefighters and other first responders, Glenside Fire Department Lt. Bob Garon, left, rings a memorial bell, while Chief Russ Wood reads a list of those honored.   Scott Sanders | Staff Photographer

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Roughly 150 people celebrated the 62nd annual National Day of Prayer Thursday morning at Glendale Lakes Golf Club in Glendale Heights.

They joined residents from across the region and the nation in the celebration that began in 1952 when President Harry Truman declared an annual National Day of Prayer. President Ronald Reagan signed a law in 1988 designating the first Thursday in May for the observance.

The Glendale Heights celebration, sponsored by Adventist GlenOaks Hospital and others, was based on the theme "Pray For America" and featured a keynote address from the Rev. David Sitler, pastor at Glen Ellyn Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Sitler received severe burns in December 2011 while on a mission trip with his family in Nicaragua and says the prayers of many supporters helped him make a full recovery that still baffles the medical personnel who treated him.

Several area mayors also were scheduled to participate, including Bloomingdale's Bob Iden, Addison's Larry Hartwig and Mayor-elect Rich Veenstra, and Carol Stream's Frank Saverino.