People's Prayers

Monday, September 18, 2023

Prayers of the People: Self-Righteous Sulk ~ 17th Sunday after Pentecost '23 Yr A

For Sunday, September 24, 2023, Readings: Jonah 3:10-4:11, Psalm 145:1-8, Philippians 1:21-30,

Matthew 20:1-16

God saw…the people of Nineveh…how they turned from their evil ways [and] God changed his mind…Jonah…became angry. [Jonah 3:10-4:1]

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness. [Psalm 145:8]

Only, live your life in a manner worth of the gospel of Christ...standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. [Philippians 1:27-28]

When the first came, they thought they'd receive more...they grumbled against the landowner. But he replied to one of them..."Take what belongs to you. I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you..." So the last will be first, and the first will be last. [Matthew 20:10a, 11b, 13a, 14, 16]

Jonah, could be my patron saint. He has gone off in a serious sulk, even while acknowledging to God that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now that God has seen that, after Jonah’s warnings to Nineveh earlier in this chapter, Nineveh has changed its ways so God chooses not to bring the promised calamity on them, you know, like, God is relenting from punishment! And still, Jonah is angry because God didn’t punish them even though they did repent and stopped doing what they were doing. I love Jonah. He’s cranky, irritable, eventually does what he’s told to do after trying hard to get out of it, gets the result he’s been talking about but drat and dagnabbit those people escaped Your wrath, God, so I’ll just sit here and sulk in the heat and hope to die! Gee, I never felt like that ever, no never, mostly, ok ~ rarely-ish.

Paul is writing to the Philippians expressing his own personal reality. He wants to die to be united with Christ as that is his ultimate goal, yet living is how he can make Christ known to more people. It’s hard work and he has to keep at it as human people will lapse in their faith and commitments unless their leaders keep them on track. Paul wants to be that leader for them. He expresses a human truth that he understands their struggles with living a life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ for he has struggled, too, and it continues. He pledges to be with them through it in person or in absence.

The vineyard laborers in the parable of Jesus aren't happy that the Landowner is simply using his prerogative to be generous. Same pay for one hour's work as for a full day ~ who wouldn't get upset about that? Don't those who worked longer and did more work deserve more? How many of us Good Christian People would grumble and self-righteously sulk about that Landowner in the parking lot? If only we could feel ~ and stop ~ the creeping envy, greed, and judgment filling us. If only we could freely accept someone’s simple generosity to another without feeling as if we were somehow betrayed. Do we ever learn?

It's a difficult balance to fight for equity and fairness for ourselves and others in our temporal life, while relinquishing jealousy and anger at not getting what we perceive is deserved. God isn't leading us by clouds and pillars of fire these days, but by the Word of Christ. Am I seeking it first? Am I hearing? Am I listening? Am I following? Am I trusting? Or am I self-righteously sulking in the heat of my perceived-as-unfair-mistreatment. My prayer is to try to find that balance, to not leave the releasing of envy and grumbling to my last conscious thought; and, oh yes: Dear Lord, if only You will save me from all that I justly deserve...you know, like, that relenting from punishment thing…

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader:  ~ Most Generous God, if only we could remember that Your love for us is limitless as we grumble and complain about fairness in this brief life. Relieve us of envy and guide us to stand firm with one spirit, to strive together with one mind, and to live in and for our faith in Christ’s Gospel now, with every conscious breath and every waking thought.

Gracious Lord
                       RESPONSE: Help us Live Your Gospel

~ Most Generous God, grant us the voice to move the hearts and minds of political leaders locally, nationally, and globally to act justly and always on behalf of humanity, with mercy, compassion, and kindness. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Gracious Lord
                                                       Help us Live Your Gospel

~ Most Generous God, enfold all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit into Your loving embrace, and lift the spirits of those who give them care.  We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Gracious Lord
                                                       Help us Live Your Gospel

~ Most Generous God, we commend to Your eternal Heart all still loved in this life, who now live again and forever with Christ. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

                                                       Gracious Lord
                                                       Help us Live Your Gospel

~ Most Generous God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Gracious Lord
                                                       Help us Live Your Gospel

~ Most Generous God, grant renewable supplies of wisdom, vitality, and pizazz to all who have been chosen to elevate Your Church into a vibrant community of faith in every circumstance of human living. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Gracious Lord
                                                       Help us Live Your Gospel

The Celebrant adds: Eternal God, compel our souls to desire life with Christ first in every decision and action, and to release us from carrying judgment, greed, and envy within us to the last. We ask this grace through Jesus, our Hope and our Salvation; and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Sanctifier; who live and reign together with You, One God, now and forever.  Amen.

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Monday, September 11, 2023

Prayers of the People: Imprisoned Hearts ~ Proper 19, 16th Sunday after Pentecost '23 Yr A

For Sunday, September 17, 2023, Readings: Genesis 50:15-21, Psalm 103 (1-7), 8-13; Romans 14:1-12,

Matthew 18:21-35

What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full…Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept… [Genesis 50:15, 17b-18a]

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness. He will not always accuse us, nor will he keep his anger forever. [Psalm 103:8-9]

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions...Who are you to pass judgment on...[another]? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. [Romans 14:1, 4]

Peter came and said to Jesus, "...how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times...'[The lord of the slave said] Should you not have mercy of your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'...So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." [Matthew 18:21-22, 33, 35]

We’re in our 4^th week of thinking about our roles in Forgiveness. We begin with one of the epic Hebrew Testament stories, in which, to call this “sibling rivalry” is quite an extraordinary understatement. As is always a good practice, look beyond the basic chapter and verses of the current readings and take a look at Genesis 37, especially verses 3-4 and then 12-36. Joseph’s time before and later in Egypt is not unlike his dream interpretations of feast and famine to Pharoah. But if you want to know Joseph’s full story, read from Chapters 39-50 to refresh your full memory of all that he went through and all that he became. Today’s reading opens with the fear of Joseph’s older brothers that Joseph may bear a grudge given what they had done to him years before. They felt safer, perhaps, until the death of their father whom they didn’t want to upset. Now they were worried. How would you feel if your siblings tried to kill you and then decided to sell you into slavery? Are they truly repentant or are they using their dead father as a means to save themselves from Joseph ~ and, does it matter? Joseph’s behavior toward them gives one answer. The psalm also seems to be an answer for these questions, especially in verse 9, as the psalmist tells us that God will not always accuse us. But for me, the most relief-giving statement of all time is the second half of verse 9: nor will he keep his anger forever. The human in us may have great difficulty unbinding our anger but God gets over it!

Romans 14:1-12 gives a stark lesson in our individual accountability. If this passage isn’t perfectly relevant to our current time, nothing is. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or your sister? …For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Read these 12 verses again, re-read, read yet again and, as we say, “inwardly digest.” It is quite a prelude to this week’s Gospel.

Jesus tells Peter that seventy-seven times we are to forgive, or, as in an older perhaps more familiar translation to some, seventy times seven. Sometimes forgiving once feels beyond my capacity but I sure can snap to judgment in a nano-second. I do know that my instant judgment of another sometimes has to do with a projection of what I don't like about myself, specifically the uncomfortable awareness of my own transgressions. When I push myself to move beyond denial and engage in thoughtful, prayerful reflection of how I react, I remember a saying, but not where I heard it, If God forgives you, who are you not to forgive yourself?! Of course, in these tumultuous times, anger and judgment seem to permeate the very air that we breathe. Forgiving is a challenge when the stakes feel so highly charged. Plus, when I dig deeper, I discover that forgiveness received and given isn't a mere slap-dash-high-five-good-to-go. It requires a significant, deliberate, conscious change in me without requiring the same of others.

When I feel forgiven, it is easier to extend forgiveness, understanding, and compassion to others. When judgment and cynicism wane and I feel forgiving, the work of faith, hope, and love becomes more instinctual though not less difficult. It is a continuous process filled with detours, back-tracking, failure, and persistence in that starting over thing. Paul reminds us that we are each accountable to God. Perhaps a sticky note that says accountable, on the dashboard of my car or on my computer screen when I log into social media will help me to remember. I also need frequent reminders that it is my own responsibility to consciously live as a disciple of Christ.

Jesus is uncomfortably clear that God will forgive us AS, in the way that, we forgive others. How simply difficult it is. Yet there are a couple of other quotes that help me remember to awaken my consciousness. One has been attributed to so many people including The Buddha, Nelson Mandela, and Carrie Fisher. Regardless, it speaks volumes to the physical and emotional self-destructive properties of clinging to anger. Essentially the message is: Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. The other is by the late theologian Lewis B. Smedes who said: To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner is yourself. Let us work constantly to forgive even those unforgiveable in our sight, including ourselves, so that we may un-imprison our own hearts.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord of Compassion and Kindness, liberate us from the slavery of judgment and anger, keep us mindful of our accountability to You, and always aware that You forgive us as sincerely and grace-fully as we forgive all others.

Most Merciful Lord

RESPONSE: I am accountable to You

~ Lord of Compassion and Kindness, in these perilous times, energize us to press for the urgency of informed decision-making and rational response to crises not only for ourselves but especially for the leaders of our Planet, our Nation, and our Local Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Most Merciful Lord

I am accountable to You

~ Lord of Compassion and Kindness, calm the waves of illness, pain, and despair for all whose hope is sinking; and lift the spirits of those who provide support. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Most Merciful Lord

I am accountable to You

~ Lord of Compassion and Kindness, our souls are comforted by the heavenly embrace and infinite peace of our loved ones who now live again in You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions

Most Merciful Lord

I am accountable to You

~ Lord of Compassion and Kindness, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Most Merciful Lord

I am accountable to You

~ Lord of Compassion and Kindness, bestow an unlimited capacity for energy and spiritual joy to all who are anointed and entrusted to guide us by Your Word and Wisdom. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Most Merciful Lord

I am accountable to You

The Celebrant adds: Most High God, quicken our faith in Your constant Presence, and impose the character and courage to forgive as we are forgiven upon our hearts and souls,. Guide us to seek Your Ways, not our own, to walk through each moment of Your precious gift of our human living. We ask through the blessings of Your Son Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; and Your most Holy Spirit, our Counselor; who are, together with You, One God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, September 4, 2023

Prayers of the People: Stop, in the Name of Love ~ Proper 18, 15th Sunday after Pentecost '23 Yr A

For Sunday, September 10, 2023, Track 2 Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-11, Psalm 119:3, Romans 13:8-14,

Matthew 18:15-20

You, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel…if…you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life. [Ezekiel 33:7-11]

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes…give me life in your ways. [Psalm 119:33a, 37b]

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another… The commandments...are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’...love is the fulfilling of the law...now is the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers...Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light...” [Romans 13:8a, 9b, 11b, 12b]

"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven...For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." [Matthew 18:18, 20]

The passage this week from the priest of Israel turned prophet, Ezekiel, begins in several ways depending on the particular edition/translation you are reading. I was immediately struck by the wording and the punctuation of verse 7 in the NRSV: …you, mortal,… which is repeated in verse 10…you, mortal,…because it felt as if I was being engaged ~ me, right now, today, this minute. In other translations instead of “mortal,” the phrase is son of man, which according to one source occurs 93 times in Ezekiel. In one Jewish translation it is ben adam, which is Hebrew for son of man; “adam” is, essentially, a Hebrew word for the humans, male and female, that God created. While mortal leaves no misunderstanding or escape clause regarding we who are not “sons,” I, me, you, him, her, them are all inclusive as a sentinel for the house of Israel, that is, for the house, the city, the state, the country, indeed the entire planet that we, each, occupy now. And it was so for Ezekiel, as this was his personal call from God to warn the wicked to turn from their ways and if they don’t they only had themselves to blame. At least Ezekiel tried and took note that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Of course we know that in the Christian/New Testament, Jesus self-described himself as son of man in the human as well as the divine sense. This passage to us, mortals, opens and prepares us to the hear the lessons learned and given to us by Jesus in today's Gospel.

The psalmist asks to be taught the way of God’s statutes and to turn his eyes away from the worthless to give me life in your ways. This is the way of God’s statutes, to spread the Word by how we ourselves live, not by taking pleasure in the misfortune of others.

And then, Paul reminds us, because we need to hear again and again, that Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." I used to hear that as "love your neighbor as you love yourself" and, of course, if one has difficulty loving oneself it would be apparent in the way they treat others. Yet in the fuller sense, I now read it as written ~ love your neighbor as your self. THAT person is YOU. Loving him, her, them is to love yourself, to seek and discover a mirror image in another and love that part of them, however miniscule, that is you. Jesus promises that in unity and community, when two or three or more gather in his name, we bring Him into our midst. It doesn't make it easier, yet it gives us a place to start. We are to Owe no one anything, except to love one another. "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." [Romans 13:10] [and also see Mt 22:35-40, Mk 12:28-34, Lk 10:25-28, Jn 13:31-35]

Jesus lays out a plan for conflict resolution in the Church, which if followed without a clear sense of sincere discretion, care, and sacred responsibility, may have the opposite and a dire effect for many individuals and the community itself. He tells us again, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, which should have a chilling and sobering effect on how we decide to act in any moment of life with anyone. Conflict resolution is tenuous in the best of times; a huge responsibility for all parties. Pointing out faults is always easier when we think we have none. I must admit that I have trouble liking some people let alone loving them, especially people who intentionally do serious harm physically, emotionally, and spiritually to others. Yet try as I might, the reality is that I cannot change what anyone else does; I can only stop, breathe, halt my reaction in time and in order to change my response to it. No easy task, no easy solution, but one certainty exists: Salvation is nearer to us now, and every passing moment brings it closer. The time is NOW to turn to Christ, to act for Christ, to love in, through, and as Christ would have us do ~ whew, hard work when there are no guarantees that our efforts will be successful or appreciated now or ever. If only I could just wait a little longer to do all that I should, to build my courage, to reduce my fear. But, time's a-wastin' and for those of us who believe in the word and teachings of Jesus, he tells us that what we do on Earth is directly applied to Heaven. There’s that whatever you bind you loose thing again. But the light of Christ is always with us especially when we stop, in the name of love, to weigh, pray, consider, and reconsider, our intentions for our neighbor and our self.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ Lord GOD, Your Love, through Christ, will give us life in Your ways at the moment we seek to live into our life’s true calling. Guide us to forgive the unforgivable, to live honorably and honestly, and to continue Your work to love everyone we meet as if they are our selves.

Lord of Earth and Heaven
RESPONSE: Bind us together in Love

~ Lord GOD, as we put on the armor of Light in Christ, we give witness of Your unending love to all who lead this World, this Country, and this Community, with the express expectations that they will act for the safety, wholeness, and health of all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord of Earth and Heaven
                                                       Bind us together in Love

~ Lord GOD, comfort and heal all who are chronically ill, live in the relentless demand of addiction, or have lost their sense of home, and refresh all who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord of Earth and Heaven
                                                       Bind us together in Love

~ Lord GOD, grant us peace in knowing that our loved ones now bloom again in the eternal sunshine of Life everlasting with You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord of Earth and Heaven
                                                       Bind us together in Love

~ Lord GOD, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

                                                       Lord of Earth and Heaven
                                                       We You a new song by our lives

~ Lord GOD, prepare a special place in Your eternal Kingdom for those who lead us in Your Church, who pray with us and for us, preach Your word to us, and shepherd us to spiritual growth in this Community of Faith in ever growing ways. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

                                                       Lord of Earth and Heaven
                                                       Bind us together in Love

The Celebrant adds: God of All and Everything, awaken our hearts, in this short life, to see ourselves as You see us, with love, compassion, and understanding for ourselves and all others. Illuminate our path with the Light of Christ, that we may lay aside the works of darkness and gather together in the name of Christ our Lord. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer and Messiah; and the Holy Spirit, the Counselor of our Souls; who live and reign together with You, One God, Timeless, Immortal, and Infinite. Amen.

Monday, August 28, 2023

Prayers of the People: Left Behind ~ 14th Sunday after Pentecost '23 Yr A

For Sunday, September 3, 2023, Readings: Jeremiah 15:15-21, Psalm 26:1-8, Romans 12:9-21,

Matthew 16:21-28

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of Hosts, [Jeremiah 15:16]

O Lord, that I may go in procession round your altar, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and recounting all your wonderful deeds. [Psalm 26:6-7]

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;...outdo one another in showing honor...never avenge yourselves...for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."...overcome evil with good. [Romans 12:9, 10b, 19, 21b]

…[Jesus] turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things…For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who want to lose their life for my sake will find it. For what does it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?" [Matthew 16:23, 25-26 ]

The world of today is not so far away in attitude from the times of Jeremiah. Around the world and in each of our own countries, many of us go through our days just minding our earthly whines and gripes, and the pointing of our self-justified fingers toward the annoying peccadilloes of others. Meanwhile, there’s an explosion of intentional racial, ethnic, gender, and various forms of hatred of the “other” and the “them,” resulting in senseless mass killings, as well as unchecked, well-supported, and imposed power grabs. The social and political environment continues, from eons ago, creating old and new forms of enslavement through poverty, robust greed, oppression, suppression, and the lighting of the fuses of reactive violence ~ all elements that have never left the human realm. And, like Jeremiah, we sometimes brood over what God didn’t do for “us” until we realize God IS with all, the ones we wag our fingers at and our very own selves.

But God, through Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus, reminds us that, however reluctant, we are each called to step up to find our individual ways to save nations, if only by one “them, other, or us” at a time.

It is much easier to wander in the wilderness of apathy or cling to the false gods of power and profit as if to save us from ourselves and each other. This week, Paul, gives us a rapid-fire list of how to begin to be the Living Sacrifice that Jesus calls us to be: Let love be genuine, hate evil, hold fast to good, love one another, outdo, don't lag, rejoice, be patient, persevere, contribute, extend, bless, rejoice, weep, live, associate, and don't claim to be wiser than you are, etc., etc., etc.

I'm nearly exhausted at the thought of it all yet Jesus reminds us that all that has been done will be repaid in kind by God. If we only Follow, Jesus says, not setting our minds on human things but on the divine, we will gain the life we were created to live. We must take care to suspend our natural impulse to argue with Jesus out of doubt, fear, or unwillingness that turns us into stumbling blocks obstructing the path of others. We must come back from the lock-step and hiding behind columns of others, attracted to and distracted by the addictive and devilish desires for ridding ourselves of “them” in pursuit of human treasure. It’s time we move to the front of the line, as did Peter, seeking to overcome evil with good. Let us individually, on the path to collectively, ignore the bluster of the wealthy and the powerful, who are seeking only more wealth and more power at the expense of life and soul. One small act, one prayer at a time leading to another and another and another...opens the Way forward. It is the best of our heart’s intention that moves us toward a life with Christ. As Jesus reminded us last week, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Whatever wealth and power that is gained on Earth, not used for the benefit of God’s People and Creation, is left behind in the ashes of ego.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord God of Hosts, Your Love will redeem us in the moment we lose our earthly longings and live into our true calling through Christ. Guide us to forgive the unforgivable in everyone including in us, to live honorably and honestly, and to continue the work to love everyone we meet as if they are ourselves.

Saving, Loving Lord

RESPONSE: We sing thanksgivings by our lives

~ O Lord God of Hosts, guide us to rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer to turn the hearts and minds of all who lead this World, this Country, and this Community. Ardent in spirit, may we directly express our expectations that they will act for the safety, wholeness, and health of all Your people. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Saving, Loving Lord

We sing thanksgivings by our lives

~ O Lord God of Hosts, comfort and heal all who are chronically ill, live in the relentless demand of addiction, or have lost their sense of home, and refresh all who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

Saving, Loving Lord

We sing thanksgivings by our lives

~ O Lord God of Hosts, grant us peace in knowing that our loved ones now blossom in the eternal sunshine of Life everlasting with You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Saving, Loving Lord

We sing thanksgivings by our lives

~ O Lord God of Hosts, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions

Saving, Loving Lord

We sing thanksgivings by our lives

~ O Lord God of Hosts, prepare a special place in Your house of eternal glory, for those who lead us in Your Church, who pray with us and for us, preach Your word to us, and shepherd us to spiritual growth in this Community of Faith in ever changing ways. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

Saving, Loving Lord

We sing You thanksgivings by our lives

The Celebrant adds: O God of Glory, awaken us again and now to serve You well in this short life, that You will see each and all of us with love, compassion, and understanding. Illumine our path with the Light of Christ, the armor that binds us against the darkness of sinful action and evil intent, our own and others. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, our Fount of Wisdom; who live and reign together with You, One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Meditation Moment: The Dream Continues 60+ Years On ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 2023

An Excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I have a Dream speech

from August 28, 1963, Washington, D.C.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

August 28, 2023: And again we pray, Lord of All There Is, Seen and Unseen, bring them and us together, to know, to see, to understand, to accept and honor that we are ALL of Your Creation, that we are better for one another together than fighting against our common interests apart, rewarding false prophets and power mongers and damaging the lives of Your Own from where we each are to across this country and the entire planet:

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [from The Book of Common Prayer, page 823, Prayers for the Social Order, 27. For Social Justice]

Full text: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/i-have-a-dream-speech-text_n_809993.html