On Thursday, as they have for three decades, local ministers will gather at noon on the steps of the Lawrence County Courthouse to pray for America.

It is part of the National Day of Prayer, which was signed into law in 1952 by President Harry S. Truman and every president since has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan designated the first Thursday of May as a day of national prayer.

This year, praying for America and for unity is the theme. And unity is something that America could use.

It seems like Americans are fracturing into tribes along the lines of politics, science, religion and the Constitution.

Rare is the Facebook posting that doesn’t devolve into anything more than a yelling match, no matter what the subject is.

A few moments of contemplating something greater than one’s self and praying for others can do much for our community, our state and our nation.