NATIONAL ANNIVERSARIES AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE

PRELUDE

The Service may begin with a Chorale, an Introit, a Processional Hymn, or Opening Sentences.

SENTENCES, one or more to be read by the Minister

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew V: 9.

Let us follow after the things which make for peace, and the things whereby we may edify one another. Romans XIV: 19.

God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. Acts X: 34, 35.

Mercy and truth are met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Psalm LXXXV: 10.

Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ezek. XXXVII: 26, 27.

The Lord will give strength unto his people;
The Lord will bless his people with peace. Psalm XXIX: 11.

Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah XXXII: 16, 17.

Righteousness exalteth a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs XIV: 34.

God be merciful unto us and bless us;
And cause his face to shine upon us:
That thy way may be known upon earth;
Thy salvation among all nations. Psalm LXVII: 1, 2.

I would have you day by day fix your eyes upon the greatness of your country, until you become filled with the love of her; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that it has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it. Pericles.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. It will be worthy of a free, enlightened and great nation, to give to mankind the example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. George Washington.

EXHORTATION, by the Minister:

Let us lift up our hearts in gratitude for the wise and good who have gone before us, who have striven even unto death to establish equity, justice and good will upon earth, into the fruit of whose labors we have entered. Let us give thanks for fathers and elder brethren who have beheld the vision of a righteous nation, into whose goodly heritage we have come. And let us strive to be worthy to stand in their place in the time allotted to us, that with steadfast courage and unwavering hope we may fulfil the tasks put into our hands to do.

INVOCATION, by the Minister:

Let us pray.

O God, the Father of all mankind, whose life embraces our common humanity, and whose love is the harbor of all our race; guide all the sons of men into knowledge of thy law, that they may walk in peace with one another and find the freedom of righteous living. Amen.
or:
Grant peace to our land, O Thou eternal source of peace, and so guide our nation that it may ever be the advocate of good will and equity in the councils of mankind. Let contentment and obedience to law reign within its borders, health and happiness within its homes. Strengthen the bonds of friendship and fellowship between all the inhabitants of our country. Implant virtue in the souls of all, and let the love of thy truth hallow every heart. Amen.

Prayer to be said by the Minister and people:

We turn to Thee, O Light and Life of all mankind, for in thy light alone may we see the right and find the good. In this house of light we remember those whose lives are darkened by the greed and wrong of others. We have not purged the commerce of our times of those harsh ways that hinder the hopes and dreams of many. In this house of peace we remember wars and rumors of wars. We have made but feeble effort to understand the peoples of the world and to foster peace among the nations. In this house of joy we remember all sorrowing and troubled folk. Let us here be gathered into a common power of good will which shall issue in lasting peace and larger right. Amen.

Then may be said the Lord’s Prayer, the people joining.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

O Lord, open thou our lips
And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised.

HYMN, CANTICLE or ANTHEM

RESPONSIVE READING

ASCRIPTION, to be said or sung.

Blessed be the Lord, our God; who only do-eth won-drous things.
And blessed be his glo-rious name, Forever and ev-er. A-men.

FIRST LESSON

CHANT, if desired.

SECOND LESSON, if desired.

The Minister may then say,
Here endeth the reading of the lesson.
The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us pray. O Lord Show thy mercy upon us.
And grant us thy Salvation.
O God, make clean our hearts within us.
And take not thy holy Spirit from us.

Then may follow a period of silent meditation, after which the Minister may read the Litany, the People responding, and one or more of the following or other suitable prayers, or may offer prayer in his own words.

LITANY

O Lord of Hosts, who hast made us one nation out of many peoples, amid our diversities of race and tradition unite us in a common love of freedom and in a high ambition for our national life.
Continue in us that faith which guided our fathers across the estranging sea and upheld them in the wilderness.
Maintain in our generation the liberty which their devotion won, and the struggle for that justice, equity and good will which they, sought.
Help us to establish our land in every righteous way. 
Revive in the people of this land a spirit of devotion to the common weal, so that we may open new doors of hope to the neglected and oppressed. Cleanse our hearts from the greed which preys upon others; deliver our politics from corruption; and expand our industry into plenteous providence for all our people.
Lead us, O Lord in thy righteousness.
Endue with the spirit of wisdom those entrusted with authority, that there may be peace within our borders, and that we may stand in our place among the nations of the earth an example of justice and a power of good will.
Let thy peace, O Lord, rule in all our hearts. 
To every council where nations bring their hopes and fears, grant wisdom and mutual understanding, that distrust and hatred may be diminished, and that a common law of justice and right may hold sway over every sea and every land.
Let thy peace, O Lord, prevail throughout the earth. 
As thou hast made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, amid all diversities of race and faith enable us to feel thine, all-embracing love, which calls all the sons of men to be thy children. Amen.

PRAYERS

Grateful in heart the people turn to thee, O God of nations. By thy strength our fathers made us free. For thy law and the love of country they gave their lives. Through martyrdom we are come into this peace, and the high histories of the brave are our inheritance. O God’, give us wisdom and strength to save our land from greed and corruption; from pride and presumption; from tyrants and misrule. Deliver us from war and the menace of war. Give to our leaders wisdom and to our people patience, that together they may achieve a better law, a purer life, a more abundant opportunity for all. Make the republic a peacemaker and a hope to the world. Give us a share in her upbuilding and defence, and a jealous care for her abiding honor among the nations; that in liberty and self-restraint, in prosperity and charity, in strength and gentleness, she may be ever worthy of her origin and her destiny. Amen.

O God, the Protector of all who put their trust in thee; we pray for the good estate of this our beloved land, that it may please thee to preserve to us the blessings of an equal and impartial freedom. Unite in mutual understanding men of diverse tasks and occupations, of alien race and faith. Revive in all hearts a spirit of devotion to the public good, that strife and tumult may be appeased and justice and truth exalted. Enable us and all thy people faithfully to discharge the duties of our different spheres, that so the coming of the kingdom of brotherhood and peace may be hastened, and thy will be done upon the earth. Amen.

O God, we pray thee for this, the nation of our love and pride. We rejoice in her spacious beauty and her busy ways of commerce, in her stores and factories where hand joins hand in toil, and in her blessed homes where heart joins heart for rest and love. Help us to make our. nation the common workshop of our people, where everyone may find his place and work, keen to do his best with hand and mind. Bind our citizens together by the glow of neighborly goodwill, by the thrill of common joys, and the pride of common possessions. May we ever remember that our nation‘s true wealth and greatness consist not in the abundance of the things which we possess but in the justice of her institutions and in the brotherly ways of her citizens. Amen.

God of all nations, we pray thee for all the peoples of thy earth: for those who are consumed in mutual hatred and bitterness; for those who make bloody war upon their neighbors; for those who tyrannously oppress; for all who groan under cruelty and subjection. We pray thee for all who bear rule and responsibility; for child-races and dying races; for outcaste tribes, the backward and the downtrodden; for the ignorant, the wretched, the enslaved. We beseech thee to teach mankind to live together in peace, no man exploiting the weak, no man hating the strong, each race working out its own destiny, unfettered, self-respecting, fearless. Teach us to be worthy of freedom; free from social wrong, free from individual oppression and contempt, pure of heart and hand, despising none, defrauding none, giving to all men, in all the dealings of life, the honor we owe to those who are thy children, whatever their color, their race or their caste. Amen.

Father of all men, who dost accept those of every nation who, lifting up their hearts unto thee, do the works of righteousness and love, open our eyes to perceive how great is the treasure of loveliness and truth, of pure living and of holy insight among all nations and kindreds and peoples. From the days of our fathers we have had such an abundance of the goods of the earth that we are prone to esteem ourselves favored above all nations. Grant us now the grace of a humble spirit, as we see those whom we have held in disesteem enter before us into thy kingdom. Strengthen the power of our affections that we may no longer remain in the bondage of a narrow and bitter mind, but may rejoice that thou hast poured forth thy spirit upon all flesh. Enlarge the boundaries of our fellowship that we may be of one heart and spirit with good men of all faiths in the labors of peace and righteousness over all the earth. Amen.

Almighty God, who alone canst give wisdom and understanding, inspire, We pray thee, the hearts of all to whom has been committed the responsibility of government in the nations of the world. Give to them the vision of truth and righteousness; teach them how to temper justice with mercy, that by their counsels the nations may work together in the spirit of brotherhood. Deliver all peoples from unhallowed rivalries and unworthy ambitions, from the lust of power, the cruelty of oppression, and the bitterness of enmity. fill them with the spirit of compassion and forgiveness, of fellowship and mutual helpfulness. Kindle in the hearts of all men the true love of peace, and grant that thy children everywhere by their thoughts and endeavors may glorify thy name, and hasten the coming of the day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. So may thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.

Eternal God, in whose kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, and no strength known but the strength of love; so guide and inspire, we pray thee, the work of all who seek to make peace in the world, that all nations may find their security, not in force of arms, but in that perfect love which casteth out fear. Amen.

Then may follow a period of silence, on organ interlude, or the following chant.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts:
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Glory be to thee, O Lord most high. Amen.

OFFERTORY, during which an anthem may be sung.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, if any.

HYMN

SERMON

PRAYER

HYMN

BENEDICTION

POSTLUDE