58th annual National Day of Prayer set for Thursday

Metro Atlantans do it in showers, cars, gardens and churches. They pray when they get up or go to bed and in between, and favorite places are as varied as each person’s day.

“I favor the purple shag bathroom rug in my master bath. God seems to like it OK, too,” said Karin Koser of Decatur.

Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and believers will be gathering in houses of worship or public spots from Washington, D.C. to Washington, Ga., to pray for the nation.

President Harry Truman first recognized the day in the 1950s, and religious conservatives have organized events in the nation’s capitol in recent years that heads of state attend. But metro believers don’t need a special day, time or place to pray. It is part of every day life.

They pray the Rosary while driving to work, on lunch break, or in spots such as Ignatius House, a retreat center along the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs.

Jenny Schmitt, a volunteer, said hard economic times have attracted about 20 percent more people to weekend retreats.

“People are looking for ways to disconnect with the digital world and reconnect with silence,” Schmitt said.

With candles, contemplative music and periods of silence, monthly Taizé prayer services at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta attract people from Canton to Jonesboro, said David VanderMeer, the minister of music.

Vivian Heard of Cumming starts each day with prayer in her living room.

“It gets my day off to a great start and helps me handle anything that might come my way,” she said.