State: Arkansas

STATE OF ARKANSAS

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

PROCLAMATION

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS:

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

WHEREAS, for many Arkansans, life in the one-room schoolhouse began with a daily Pledge of Allegiance, prayer and Bible reading; and

WHEREAS, the Preamble to the Constitution of Arkansas declares, “We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government, for our civil and religious liberty . . . . do ordain and establish this constitution”; and

WHEREAS, our Christian heritage is seen daily in the character and lives of our citizens and by the many churches throughout the Natural State; and

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

WHEREAS, Thanksgiving week is an appropriate time to center attention on thanks to Almighty God for His great and good Providence and for the Christian faith, which is a foundation of American History;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Huckabee, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim November 24 – 30 1996 as

“AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK”

in the State of Arkansas and encourage all citizens to acknowledge and appreciate the heritage of our great state and nation.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 21^st day of August, in the year of our Lord 1996.

MIKE HUCKABEE, GOVERNOR

SHARON PRIEST, SECRETARY OF STATE

STATE OF ARKANSAS

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

PROCLAMATION

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME—GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, The Preamble to the Constitution of the State of Arkansas states that “We the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government, for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings and secure the same to ourselves and posterity, 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 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, 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 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 Huckabee, Acting Governor of the State of Arkansas, do proclaim April 23^rdthroughApril 29^th, 1995, as:

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE WEEK

in the state of Arkansas.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed at the Capitol in Little Rock on this 30^thday of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five.

Mike Huckabee
Acting Governor

Sharon Priest
Secretary of State