A Prayer for July 4th (July 4th, 2026)

Creator of us all:

You are the source of every blessing,

the judge of every nation

and the hope of earth and heaven:

We pray to you on this important anniversary.

We call to mind the best that is within us:

that we live under God,

that we are indivisible,

that liberty and justice extend to all.

We confess the sin that runs through our history as a nation:

The displacement of native peoples, racial injustice,

economic inequity, regional separation, cultural discrimination.

And we profess a deep and abiding gratitude

for the goodness of ordinary people who have made sacrifices,

who have sought opportunities,

who have journeyed to this land as immigrants

and strengthened its promise in successive generations,

who have found freedom on these shores,

and defended this freedom at tremendous cost.

Be with us on this 250th anniversary of the signing of the

Declaration of Independence.

Remind us that your ways are not our ways,

that your power and might transcend

the plans of every nation,

that you are not mocked.

Let those who follow your Son Jesus Christ be a peaceable people

in the midst of division.

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us,

break down the walls of political partisanship.

Out of many, make us one.

Give us wisdom to walk in your ways,

courage to speak in your name,

and humility to trust in your providence.

Amen.

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You are invited and encouraged to share this on July 4th and in worship services on July 5th. I am with a cohort in Belfast, Northern Ireland, learning about peace-building, non-violence, how politics distorts religion, legacies of racism, and how we can work for a better future. We had conversations on the first day with ordinary people who had moved through loss, hatred and imprisonment on both sides of the Troubles, into lives of what I would call “convicted humility” and constructive engagement through realistic work on peace everyday.

Tomorrow I will preach a sermon at Knock Methodist Church in Belfast on what it means to love God, our nations, our neighbors, our enemies, and ourselves. Pray for me and pray for our learning and relationships here, and that they will bear fruit as we return.

On our 250th Anniversary as a nation we seem to be on a trajectory that is more fragmented and violent, less empathetic and welcoming to difference. The above prayer aims at a convicted humility—I have convictions that are important to me, but I am honest about the ways in which I “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13), and I am open to the needs, aspirations, gifts and experiences of others. When our nation has done this, we have been at our best. We have not always been there as a nation, just as people are not, just as I am not. Just as I am. Now that is honest reflection.

This can be a day of honest reflection and recommitment to the common good. And as Mavis Staples sings, “we’ve got work to do.”

We may well be into the early days of our own “troubles” as a nation.

So keep grinding the beans. Thanks for reading and sharing these reflections. And thanks for your friendship and the connection.