A Tradition of Gratitude: The National Day of Prayer in Dallas

For more than four decades, Thanks-Giving Foundation has stood at the heart of Dallas’s annual National Day of Prayer observance, leading faith and civic leaders, multifaith communities, and generations of residents in a shared celebration of unity, reflection, and gratitude.

The National Day of Prayer—the first Thursday in May each year—has deep roots in American life, dating back to early calls for collective prayer in the nation’s founding, and later established by law in 1952 as a day “on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation” regardless of faith or background.

In Dallas, this tradition has taken on a uniquely inclusive character: a multi-faith, multicultural, and multigenerational gathering where leaders from religious, civic, business, and nonprofit spheres come together not to preach or persuade, but to embody the civic virtue of thanksgiving and the shared human impulse toward hope and collective well-being.

On May 7, 2026, the community will again gather at the Meyerson Symphony Center for the 45th Annual National Day of Prayer Luncheon, honoring prayer not just as a personal act of devotion, but as a unifying force in public life. Over these many years, the Foundation’s leadership has modeled how a civic institution can hold space for both spiritual tenderness and public good—acknowledging that when people of all traditions pause to pray or reflect together, they strengthen the social fabric and deepen mutual understanding across difference. In a time of complex social challenges and cultural fractures, this longstanding Dallas tradition invites residents to remember that gratitude and prayer can be catalysts for healing, connection, and a more deeply shared sense of belonging in the life of The Good City.