NIGHT PRAYER: Fourth of July

Once again we're celebrating Independence  Day- and that's a good thing for which I'm very grateful - but perhaps today we should also remember our DEpendencies and the many ways and many times when what we're dependent on is even more important than what we're independent from... 

Keep us dependent on you, Lord,
    the source of our life
        and every good gift that's ours...

Keep us dependent on you,
    our only reason for being...

Keep us dependent on your wisdom, Lord,
    especially when our own folly and foolishness
        tempt us to think 

            that we know more than you do...

Keep us dependent on your love for us:
    the purest, gentlest, kindest, most merciful love
        we shall ever know and have...

Keep us dependent on your word, Lord,
    the word of your truth;
keep us dependent on a truth so much greater
    than our own assumptions and delusions...

Keep us dependent on your voice, Lord,
    always calling us to love with no strings attached,
calling us to forgive one another 

    as freely as you forgive us,
and to welcome the stranger and care for the helpless...

 

Keep us dependent on your grace, Lord,

    your Spirit alive within us

without whom we can do nothing

    and with whom we become all you made us to be...

 

Keep us dependent on your promise, Lord,
    your pledge of life forever;

keep us faithful to your promise

    especially when we prefer
        things to people,
        ourselves to others,
        and death to life...

Keep us dependent on your generous mercy, Lord,

    and generous in the mercy we have for all,

remembering we're always in debt to you

    for compassion, forgiveness and pardon...

And keep us dependent on one another, Lord,
    remembering our need for our neighbors
        and our neighbors' need for us:
keep us interdependent your grateful people,
    together always dependent on you...

Protect us, Lord, 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.

Three musical selections to choose from this evening! The first is a rousing South African freedom song, the second a simple chant composed by a Jewish cantor, and the third a jazz offering from Oscar Peterson.

 

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Freedom Is Coming  

    by The Saint Olaf Choir 

 

 

Circle Round for Freedom 

    by Linda Hirschorn

 

 

Hymn to Freedom 

    by Oscar Peterson

 

 

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America the Beautiful

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I hope you'll take some time this weekend to enjoy  this stunning arrangement of America the Beautiful by Matthew Guard and Benedict Sheehan performed here by the vocal ensemble Skylark.

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O beautiful for spacious skies, 

For amber waves of grain, 

For purple mountain majesties 

Above the fruited plain! 

America! America! 

God shed His grace on thee 

And crown thy good with brotherhood 

From sea to shining sea! 

 

O beautiful for pilgrim feet, 

Whose stern impassioned stress 

A thoroughfare for freedom beat 

Across the wilderness! 

America! America! 

God mend thine every flaw, 

Confirm thy soul in self-control, 

Thy liberty in law! 

 

O beautiful for heroes proved 

In liberating strife, 

Who more than self their country loved 

And mercy more than life! 

America! America! 

May God thy gold refine, 

Till all success be nobleness, 

And every gain divine! 

 

O beautiful for patriot dream 

That sees beyond the years 

Thine alabaster cities gleam 

Undimmed by human tears! 

America! America! 

God shed His grace on thee 

And crown thy good with brotherhood 

From sea to shining sea!

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Pause for Prayer: Fourth of July

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On this Fourth of July weekend so let's recall Emma Lazarus' poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty who extends a welcome, a haven, a refuge  for the burdened and battered... How many of us are the grandchildren and great grandchildren of ancestors who wept for joy when they sailed into New York harbor and saw Lady Liberty?  In the video here, Irving Berlin provides a powerful musical setting for these beautiful words... (My Pause for Prayer follows below..) 

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Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Let's pause and pray...

Lord, open wide my heart
   to welcome any and all
who've been turned out,
   turned aside and turned away:
in my family, in my neighborhood
   where I work and 'round the world...

May the light of my words and deeds
   lift high a lamp of welcome
and my heart provide a home
   for the weary, heavy burdened...

Let my heart open wide for others, Lord,
   as your heart opens wide for me...

Amen.

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Praying on the Night Before the Fourth

 It's the night before the Fourth of July:

        Independence Day, our nation's birthday...

 

Before we don our red, white and blue

    and ooh! and ahh! the fireworks glory,

before the backyard grill is lit

    and the potato salad spoils,

before the cooler's filled with cold beer

     - and all too quickly emptied -

before all this let's stop and remember

   what the Fourth is all about...

Help us keep in our minds and our hearts, Lord:

    Independence was declared unanimously!

    Yes, there'd been discord and yes, division

         but these were let go  for something far greater:

                the cause of the union, the welfare of all...

 

    Our rights as equals  number three:

        Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

    rights declared and understood

            as self-evident, unalienable,

                endowed on us all 

                    by you, Lord, our Creator...

But now in our selfish and stubborn pride:

    we argue and debate the self-evident,

    we deny and restrict the unalienable,

    we trade our God-given liberty for

        for license, profit and gain,

    redefining the terms of existence,

        forgetting all we have received...

Stir up in our minds and hearts, Lord,

    in those who make laws and govern,

stir up those simple, self-evident truths

    that long ago laid the foundation

for the beauty, the strength and the promise

    of this nation we call our home...

Protect us, Lord 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.

 

Tonight's music for "the night before the Fourth" is a simple variation on a familiar patriotic song.  Listen for how, in the second verse, the melody gives up the pain we know when we forget the source of our life, liberty and happiness - and in the third verse, how that joy is restored! 

 

Improvisation on America the Beautiful 

    by Jeffrey Kahane

 

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Taking a break!

On Friday morning this week I'll be flying to Denver to spend a couple months with my sister and bro-in-law. 

 

I have a LOT to do before I get to the airport so I won't be posting tonight or tomorrow.

 

See you on the eve of the Fourth of July! 

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Pause for Prayer: 7/1

Especially, Lord, 

    when fears and worries   

        cloud my days and shadow my heart,
    remind me of the peace I've known
        and kindle memories of moments past
    when I was oh-so-very-sure 
        of your presence your peace and your love...

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Tuesday 6/30

The last sunset in June, Lord!

 

I'll wake in the morning (God willing!)

and open my eyes to the first of July!

 

Half of 2026 - now history -

and in just six months (God willing!)

I'll toast a new year 

    - in which I'll turn 80...

 

Looking back, Lord, I see six months of blessings: 

    your kindness, your mercy,

    your patience, your peace, 

    your presence, your grace...

 

And I see six months of missed opportunities:

    too many shortcuts and too many naps, 

    too much time wasted that might have been shared

    too much for me, not enough for my neighbor...

 

But a whole new half-year now stretches before me:

    six months to grow in my faith in you,

    six months to reach out to others in need,

    six months to find some time every day

        to sit with you, to talk with you

            and rest in your arms...

 

As the sun goes down tonight on June

    so will it rise with the dawn's early light

on the rest of my summer, the rest of this year,

    the rest of the time you've allotted for me.. 

 

Make me a more faithful steward, O Lord, 

    of the gift of time that is my life...

 

Help me give thanks, in wonder and awe,

     as your seasons of grace, 

        like the moon and the tides

             enlighten and pull me closer to you

    as the earth turns 'round, and month by month,

        I'm called and drawn to the mystery of life,

            the mystery of your faithful love... 

 

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep rest in your peace...

 

Amen. 

 

Seasons of love from Rent 

    performed by Pentatonix

 

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Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets

In midnights, in cups of coffee

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, a year in the life?

How about love? How about love? How about love?

Measure in love Seasons of love Seasons of love

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?

In truths that she learned  Or in times that he cried

In bridges he burned  Or the way that she died

It's time now, to sing out The story never ends

Let's celebrate Remember a year in the life of friends

Remember the love

(Oh, you got to, you got to remember the love)

Remember the love

(You now that love is a gift from up above)

Remember the love

(Share love, give love, spread love)

Measure in love

(Measure, measure your life in love)

Seasons of love

Seasons of love

(Measure your life, measure your life in love)

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Pause for Prayer: Tuesday 6/30

I know a lot folks whose plates are full, Lord - filled to overflowing!

They have so much on their minds: their hearts are burdened with worry and fear about situations and circumstances that are demanding, serious and very real...

These are folks who need  a break, Lord, who need something good to happen, who need something to give them hope...

They need something good to happen as they wait and wait and wait for a turn of events in the right direction, for a piece of good news, a brighter day, a heaping helping of positive thoughts the strength to trust and a sign from you that all things
shall be well...

So many people, Lord, who just need something good to happen in their lives...

Since you, Lord, are the source of all good gifts... since every good gift that's ours comes from your hand and heart... since you more than anyone understand our plea for something good to happen... I pray for you to move - and move graciously and swiftly - with a generous and healing hand, offering heaping helpings of hope to those who wait - for something good to happen...

And while we wait, Lord - and I know that waiting is always a part of how things go - while we wait, Lord, help us know and see that you are with us in the waiting... and help us hope and help us to trust that all things shall be well, that all things shall be well, that all manner of things - shall be well... 

Amen.

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NIGHT PRAYER: Monday 6/29

Folks are talking about "summer plans" 

and that's got me to wondering, Lord:

    what might be your plans for me

    over the next couple of months...

 

I'm sure it's in your mind and heart

    to be with me, bless and support me,

    to comfort, refresh and console me, 

    to challenge, confront and nudge me,

    to lift me up when I'm down and out

    and to slow me down when I need rest...

Whether I take a vacation or not,

I know you'll want some time with me:

    time to kick back in some shady spot 

        to share a beer or a lemonade;

    time to watch the world rush by 

        while we take a rest and a second look 

            at what really matters

                (and what just don't!);

    time to let go my worries and fears,

        trusting that while I'm close by your side

    your peace and your strength

        will keep me safe 

    and all shall be well and all shall be well

        - in your good time, if not in mine -

            all manner of things shall be well...

 

So your summer plans for me are filled

    with time for rest, for peace and prayer;

time to remember you're always there,

    that you never take a vacation, Lord, 

        from me and my heart, 

            from my worries and cares...

All this I know I can count on, Lord,

    but you alone know all you have planned

for the rest of my summer's days and weeks

    however they may unfold...

 

So, surprise me, Lord! 

 

Surprise me, I pray, with your healing touch

    and with unexpected gifts of joy!

 

Surprise me with growth in my faith in you, 

    in my hope and my trust 

        that all shall be well...

 

Surprise me, Lord, with serenity, 

    with deep and lasting peace and calm

        in the shade of your quiet presence...

 

Surprise me in ways I might least expect 

    and open up wide heart and soul

to your amazing, invincible, 

    playful and generous love - for me -

in summer, fall, winter and spring,

    night and day, around the clock

            24/7/365... 

 

Surprise me, Lord, with all you've planned,

    for the time we'll share in the days ahead;

surprise me, I pray, with your Spirit's gifts

    in a summer of grace spent by your side...

 

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

    and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

    and asleep rest in your peace...

Amen. 

 

God Surprised Me 

    by Carol Cymbala

        performed by The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

 

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God surprised me with His power, 

God surprised me with his love  

Just when I thought my case was hopeless, 

He sent an answer from above  

God surprised me with His mercy, 

God surprised me with His grace  

Just when I thought my case was hopeless, 

He sent an answer from above  

 

What He's done for me, He has promised for you  

What He's done for me, He has promised for you  

No matter your problem, or difficult hour 

My God is able, a mighty strong tower  

God always surprises, with His power

God always surprises, with His power

 

God surprised me with His power, 

God surprised me with his love

Just when I thought my case was hopeless, 

He sent an answer from above 

God surprised me with His mercy, 

God surprised me with His grace

Just when I thought my case was hopeless, 

He sent an answer from above

 

What He's done for me, He has promised for you  

What He's done for me, He has promised for you  

No matter your problem, or difficult hour 

My God is able, a mighty strong tower  

God always surprises, with His power

God always surprises, with His power

 

With His power, with His power, 

He is able to come through..

 

No matter your problem, or difficult hour  

My God is able, a mighty strong tower

God always surprises, with His power

God always surprises, with His power

 

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