Saturday, June 30, 2012

Celebrating Independence Day the All Saints Church Way


Tomorrow the services at All Saints Church in Pasadena will begin with this opening versicle and response:
Minister: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
People: For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The processional hymn will be "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies" and then we’ll pray this Collect of the Day for Independence Day:
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The rector will preach to “The Life of Christian Patriots in a Moral Universe” and one of our parish veterans will bring up a folded flag at the offertory (it will be my kid at the 11:15) and we'll end with "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

It is, arguably, my favorite Sunday of the year. Film at eleven!

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