by the Rev. Charlie Dupree
Did you know that the Book of Common Prayer includes a litany of thanksgiving for national life? It’s on page 838. As you participate in the festivities of the holiday, you might use this short ritual to ground your feelings in God, and the ways in which God is calling us to be stewards of all of God’s blessings.
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Almighty God, giver of all good things:
We thank you for the natural majesty and beauty of this land.
They restore us, though we often destroy them.
Heal us.
We thank you for the great resources of this nation. They
make us rich, though we often exploit them.
Forgive us.
We thank you for the women and men who have made this
country strong. They are models for us, though we often fall
short of them.
Inspire us.
We thank you for the torch of liberty which has been lit in
this land. It has drawn people from every nation, though we
have often hidden from its light.
Enlighten us.
We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich
variety. It sustains our life, though we have been faithless
again and again.
Renew us.
Help us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun.
Strengthen our efforts to blot out ignorance and prejudice,
and to abolish poverty and crime. And hasten the day when
all our people, with many voices in one united chorus, will
glorify your holy Name.
Amen.
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See you in church,
Charlie+ (he/him)