A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 6/19

I'll go to bed tonight, Lord,

with not a worry or a thought in mind or heart

about my freedom,

my freedom as a human being, as a man,

as a citizen, as a person free to come and go,

           when and where he pleases,
   my rights guaranteed by God, my nation, the law
       and the wisdom of human sensibility...

Of all the things that might trouble me tonight,
   might keep me from a restful sleep,
none is of a fundamental nature:
   none threatens my safety or welfare,
   none impairs or impugns my unalienable rights
       to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
           of personal freedom,

           of growth and development,
           of exploring and using my gifts and talents
   and the joy of knowing my place in the community
       as equal, accepted and honored,

as reverenced, esteemed and free...

I go to bed tonight free of such worries and concerns
precisely because I'm privileged;

I'm privileged by a constellation of stars
far beyond my imagining or arranging;

I'm privileged, Lord, as all God's children

ought to be - but are not yet...

Not all your children, Lord, share the freedom,

   the liberty, rights and privilege I enjoy
        - and often take for granted;
   the privilege that now summons me

- and all of us -

to work until these blessings and gifts

are guaranteed and protected,

defended and ensured

as promised and enshrined in law:

for all, by all - and without exception...

I pray for all who wait a share

in the freedoms I take for granted, Lord,
and for all of us, the privileged,

to work until each one is free

to live, to grow and to become

    all you've created us to be...

Protect us, Lord, all of us, while we're awake
   and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
   and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Toast to Freedom by Carl Carlton and Larry Campbell

(Tonight's audio begins with a crackling fire!)

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How delicious is the winning of her kiss
Bind her love to eternal bliss
She’s the greatest power in the universe
Freedom

Her touch will feed your real hope
In the darkest of days and on the steepest slope
Let your good heart and kindness fill her temple
Freedom

Nobody’s free til everybody’s free
We walk the winding road, sail the raging seas
No prison cell, no censorship hell
Can claim our obedience and love

Here’s our toast to freedom
To human rights and dignity
Love, respect and forgiveness
United in the dream for victory
Here’s to the battlefields for justice
Of the banished, tortured and enslaved
To the selfless spirit and commitment
To our brothers and sisters in the grave