This year’s National Day of Prayer will be an expanded version of the ceremony held at the courthouse lawn over the past few years.

The event is hosted by the newly revived Ironton Ministerial Association

“It is an opportunity for us to be present and make a statement in a public place,” the Rev. Sallie Schisler, priest in charge of Christ Episcopal Church, “And this year we are also going to be feeding people.”

The ceremony will start at noon Thursday at the courthouse.

Susan Taylor will open with the national anthem and Ricky Payne will close with a musical rendition of the Lord’s Prayer.

Throughout the event, local ministers will focus prayers on this year’s theme of Wake Up America and the Scripture verse of Isaiah 58:1.

After the service, ministers will grill hot dogs and serve chips and drinks.

The national day dates back to 1952, when a law was passed that the president should set aside an appropriate date for the event. In 1979, the National Prayer Committee was formed with 18 members on the committee’s executive board.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a law that made the first Thursday in May as the annual observance for the National Day of Prayer.

This will be the third event hosted by the local ministerial association that organized the community Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the community Good Friday service.