Once again the American people unite to express gratitude for our national independence, and as usual Christians gather for worship on this Lord’s Day which happens to fall on Independence Day. As we do so, we ask God to help us extend freedom to all our people, especially to those who are the most imprisoned by poverty, illness, or social inequality. Therefore with thanksgiving for all the blessings which have come to us as citizens of this nation, let us, with confidence, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
Gracious God, Thou art the creator of all people and peoples. By Thy loving purpose each of us has been brought into existence, and by Thy providential guidance nations have evolved over the entire face of the earth. On this Fourth of July, we thank Thee for the United States of America, and for all the good influences Thou hast used among us to institute justice and righteousness in our national life. For as long as there have been Americans, many of our people have sought to effect principles for goodness and truth in the ways we have conducted ourselves as a country. We confess that it has often been difficult for us to agree about what to do, let alone to do it. But we continue to trust Thou wilt guide us if we will continue to seek Thy guidance.
We express both concern and dismay that we seem to be in a period when our national government is at a political impasse. Partisanship takes precedence over statesmanship, and rancor rules over reason. We ask Thee to give each of us a greater sense of personal responsibility for our political dis-ease. Grant to those we elect a much higher commitment to the greatest good of the greatest number of our people, and grant to us who elect them a heightened commitment to uphold and to insist upon the ideas and ideals for which we have elected them.
We pray for the many millions of ordinary citizens whose labors help to make a powerful nation operate: government and corporate bureaucrats, bank tellers and store clerks and small business owners, truck drivers and repair people and travel personnel. We pray also for those whose decisions have a far greater impact on the life of the nation: the President, Members of Congress, federal judges and Supreme Court justices, cabinet members, high-ranking military officers, and those appointed by the government to positions of the highest authority and power. Make all of us worthy citizens of a country we all want to be the best it can be. Because Thy will is that all nations also be the best they can be, we ask these things in Thy name, the God of hosts and the Lord of all the nations. Now we pray as Jesus taught his followers, saying, Our Father….