Tag: 4th of July

A few thoughts on the 4th of July

My friend Angus Mathie over in Scotland sent me a question a few weeks back…

I am preaching at a local church, coincidentally, on the fourth of July. I have been reading from a photograph of the Declaration of Independence. I realize that I am asking a lot but is it possible to inform me what this Day means to you as a US citizen and how does the average person celebrate the Day?

I do not want to put you to a lot of trouble but I am really interested in your point of view. Please don’t be concerned about my reaction to anything you would say as I don’t cherish Britain’s colonial past at all.
With love, Angus.

Thought I’d share my thoughts here as well…
Continue reading A few thoughts on the 4th of July

Profoundly Disturbed on The Fourth of July (redux): God, The Flag, and the End of America

Ever wonder if all those patriotic songs on the 4th of July might be a little out of place in our worship services?

Our call to worship that 4th of July weekend was This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land.

After the Color Guard presented the flag, we stood, said the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang The Star-Spangled Banner.

Our worship set included The Battle Hymn of the Republic, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, America the Beautiful and God Bless America. We even finished the service by asking the congregation to sing along with Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA (“I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free”).

And through the whole thing I couldn’t help but think how moving it was with flags draped from the ceiling, how well-done the music sounded with the drums beating a military cadence throughout and how incredibly wrong that we were doing any of it.