Prayer of Confession | Independence Day
[to be prayed with My Country ‘Tis of Thee verses interspersed]
Sing Verse 1
God of Freedom, forgive us when, in this land of freedom, we have enslaved and oppressed people with chains of iron, chains of debt, or chains of race.
We pray that those who have sacrificed for freedom would not have given in vain and that all who live in this land might be truly free.
Sing Verse 2
God of all Peoples, forgive us when we have not recognized your children in every human face, and we bemoan the sins committed by our foreparents against those whose native country this truly is.
Reconcile us to our Native American brothers and sisters that your justice might be done in this land.
Sing Verse 3
God of Nature, forgive us when we take for granted your bountiful gifts of land and water and permit the destruction of your creation for the sake of expediency or economic gain.
Grant us courage to be stewards of your world so that our children’s children might know the beauty of your works.
Sing Verse 4
God, our King, forgive us when we forget that you are the author of liberty and Sovereign of all the Nations.
Grant that our eyes may never be blinded by any banner or flag that would obscure our devotion to the cross on which Christ was crucified and from which he rose.
In the name of Christ, the King of kings, the Alpha and Omega, we pray. Amen.
[silence]
In the name of Christ we are forgiven and set free. The peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
Let us greet our neighbors in Christ’s peace.
Lawrence Lee
Independence Day
July 6, 2003
Presbyterian Pioneer Parish, Douglas & Bayfield Counties, Wisconsin