SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Across the nation and on the Central Coast Thursday, people took part in the annual National Day of Prayer.

It's an hour-long event during which people are urged to pray for the government, media, church, family and education. Each year, the day has a specialized theme. This year's theme is "God shed his grace on thee."

A number of noon-time ceremonies marked the day in Santa Cruz.

A group of more than 50 attended an event at Santa Cruz City Hall. The people prayed together before breaking into smaller prayer groups.

"I really want to pray for our city and our county because I love Santa Cruz. I love Santa Cruz County. I've lived here since 1976. I know when we pray things change," Julie Chapman said.

Some of the prayers were set aside for the war in Iraq.

"We're not just praying that we will intervene. We pray that the Iraqi people will have a free nation and worship as they see fit -- free to worship and we can bring our troops home," Jim Seybert said.

The National Day of Prayer was established by a congressional joint resolution and signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1952. President Ronald Reagan singed an amendment to the law in 1988 calling for the first Thursday in May to be recognized as the National Day of Prayer.