Yesterday, President Barack Obama released a proclamation in honor of the National Day of Prayer commemorating that for many Americans, prayer undergirds them throughout their lives, and especially through challenges and difficulties.

It is clear that the values with which the President leads—the values of fairness, compassion, and the belief that we are our brother’s keeper—are strengthened by his own personal faith.

The National Day of Prayer reminds us that America is made stronger by a rich and inclusive community of faith.

In this Easter season that is sacred to so many, President Obama and the First Lady join Christians around the world in reflecting upon the foundations of their faith. We are all reminded at this time, and throughout the year, of the important values that guide us. Those common values embodied in compassion, and caring for one another, truly being our brother and sister’s keeper, help to make us great as a nation.

As the President remarked at the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast, his ability to face the challenges that confront him and all of us, is strengthened by his personal faith.

The President made the following statement about Easter:

This Sunday, Michelle and I will join Christians across the country and around the world to celebrate Easter and give thanks for the all-important gift of grace.  Easter is a time to reflect on both Christ’s suffering and ultimate triumph, as the anguish of the cross continues to give way to the victory of resurrection.  So to all those celebrating with us, we extend our warmest Easter greetings and best wishes in the days ahead.

Today, to commemorate the beginning of the Lenten Season, President Obama released the following statement:

"Today, Michelle and I honor Ash Wednesday with Christians around the country and across the world. This is at once a solemn and joyous occasion, an opportunity to remember both the depths of sacrifice and the height of redemption.  We join millions in entering the Lenten Season with truly thankful hearts, mindful of our faith and our obligations to one another."

On Friday, President Obama announced a landmark decision on preventive care which safeguards religious freedom while also maintaining increased access to contraception for all women. Lauded by Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, as well as Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, the ruling ensures that all women receive free contraception as part of their health insurance plans and those employers who conscientiously disagree with contraception will not be forced to pay for it.

"The framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed,” Sister Keehan said.

"We believe the compliance mechanism does not compromise a woman's ability to access these critical birth control benefits," said Richards.

 “Nearly 99 percent of all women have relied on contraception at some point in their lives –- 99 percent.  And yet, more than half of all women between the ages of 18 and 34 have struggled to afford it.  So for all these reasons, we decided to follow the judgment of the nation’s leading medical experts and make sure that free preventive care includes access to free contraceptive care,” President Obama said at a press conference. “Now, as we move to implement this rule, however, we’ve been mindful that there’s another principle at stake here –- and that’s the principle of religious liberty, an inalienable right that is enshrined in our Constitution.  As a citizen and as a Christian, I cherish this right.”

When the Department of Health and Human Services announced the rule requiring employers, with the exception of places of worship, to provide contraception as part of their healthcare plans, the President made sure that religious-affiliated organizations were given an extra year to implement this so that he could work out a solution for those who object to contraception because of their religious beliefs. With the announcement of today’s decision, he made good on his promise by protecting religious freedom while also making sure that all women have access to important preventive care.

This policy is especially important to President Obama because, as a person of faith, he understands the value of the work faith-affiliated organizations do and the major contributions they make to their communities. “My first job in Chicago was working with Catholic parishes in poor neighborhoods, and my salary was funded by a grant from an arm of the Catholic Church,” the President said. “And I saw that local churches often did more good for a community than a government program ever could, so I know how important the work that faith-based organizations do and how much impact they can have in their communities. “ From personal experience, he deeply understands and believes the notion that we are greater together, and he sees the critical role religious organizations play in this. Through his Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the President has made a concerted effort to empower religious organizations to fight poverty, improve education and access to healthcare, and promote fatherhood and mentoring.

Echoing the sentiments that the President expressed at the National Prayer Breakfast, this ruling demonstrates President Obama’s continued commitment to the core American values of religious liberty and women’s health. It also reaffirms his enduring dedication to the work of religious organizations and faithful Americans. We are thrilled for the families who will benefit from this provision of the President’s healthcare legislation and we are excited to see the continuation of the strong partnerships that have been built between faith-based organizations and the Obama Administration.   

President Barack Obama addressed the 60^th annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, February 2^nd, with a message about his own personal Christian faith and a vision for our nation anchored in the values that enable us to face our challenges and move forward greater together. “We can’t leave our values at the door,” the President said. “If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries, and allowed us to become somewhat more perfect a union. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel -- the majority of great reformers in American history did their work not just because it was sound policy, or they had done good analysis, or understood how to exercise good politics, but because their faith and their values dictated it, and called for bold action.”

The President spoke about the ways in which the values of fairness, compassion, and shared responsibility have guided him not just in his private life, but in his public life and leadership of our nation. “I’d be remiss if…my values were limited to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends. So instead, I must try – imperfectly, but I must try – to make sure those values motivate me as one leaders of this great nation.” His actions back up his words. The President’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has been busy at work empowering religious and community organizations to improve low-income schools, create social networks to help people find jobs, increase access to vital healthcare and nutrition services, ensure our veterans are employed and promote strong fatherhood. President Obama has also increased funding to Catholic charity organizations and provided grants to organizations like World Vision, American Jewish World Service and Islamic Relief for life-saving aid across the world.

President Obama’s values greatly inform his prioritization of policies that augment the impact of faith-based and community organizations throughout the country. His values also guide his approach to issues like expanding opportunity for all, protecting the most vulnerable, and making sure our housing and financial sectors are working for Americans rather than against them. The President reiterated this in his remarks. "Treating others as you want to be treated.  Requiring much from those who have been given so much.  Living by the principle that we are our brother’s keeper.  Caring for the poor and those in need…Today, with as many challenges as we face, these are the values I believe we’re going to have to return to in the hopes that God will buttress our efforts.”

The President closed by reflecting upon a moving personal encounter with The Reverend Dr. Billy Graham: “I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment -- asking God for guidance not just in my personal life and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong.  I know that He will guide us.  He always has, and He always will.  And I pray his richest blessings on each of you in the days ahead.”

From barackobama.com:

President Obama presented a far-reaching vision for the future of our country in this year’s State of the Union address. He detailed important plans to improve college affordability, equip workers with 21st century skills and training, and bring about a new and increasingly prosperous era of American manufacturing. Echoing the sentiments he expressed in December in Osawatomie, Kansas, President Obama made a resounding call for a return to American values where everyone has a fair shot, gets a fair shake, and plays by the same set of rules.

As Americans, we are bound together by more than nationality or geography. We are bound by a shared set of ideals and values rooted in the notion that we are greater together; that our collective efforts produce something better than the sum of our individual actions; and that together, rather than singularly, we can overcome the greatest challenges that come our way. The President’s State of the Union address centered on keeping these values at the core of our national identity and moving forward as a nation with policies that bring hope and a promising future to our country and our people by laying the groundwork for us to out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build our competition.

With the 2012 election upon us, we face an important choice between very different visions of the type of country we want to be. This year’s State of the Union demonstrated President Obama’s commitment to policies rooted in common good values. It showed, once again, that our President is focused on moving us forward as a country. We hope you will join us and President Obama as we work to win the future in 2012 and beyond.