| Fr. Chip's Liturgy Lesson for Independence Day: Prayer for our country |
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Why does the Church offer prayer for the nation and its leaders? To teach her people the duty of loyalty and submission to civil rulers and to secure peace and righteous government. 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, [which is] our hope; 1:2 Unto Timothy, [my] own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, [and] peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our liturgy employs prayers for our government in several places. In today’s Holy Communion we celebrate our Nation’s birth with the propers (Collect, Epistle and Gospel) especially composed to render the Eucharist, or Great Thanksgiving with the intention of thanking our Heavenly Father for our free land and His blessings on it, while at the same time, calling down further blessings from Him for our country. In the Prayer Offices, we pray the Prayer for the President and Civil Authority, derived from the Sacramentary of St. Gregory, a 4th Century rendering of the Holy Communion service. In it, we ask for Godly leadership, inspired by the Gifts of the Spirit exercised in obedience to God. In other places, we pray for Congress, the military, legislatures, justices, and our Country in general. We also pray for fruitful seasons, rains, relief from rain, safety in calamity, education, and Christian service. And, of course, we also thank God for His provision and Grace to our land. Clearly the Church, along with the Founding Fathers (mostly Anglican) intended us to invoke God into the affairs of our Country. May we continue in their footsteps…may God bless and revive America! Collect for Independence Day:
O ETERNAL God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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