by The Rev. Dr. Stephen Applegate, Interim Rector
Dear Friends,
Terry and I have lived in Granville, Ohio, for almost 22 years. We moved there from Cincinnati in 2003 when I accepted the call to be Rector of St. Luke’s Church. We’d visited the town only once prior to the move to be interviewed by the Search Committee. That brief visit, along with a clever and funny video intended to answer the question, “Why would anyone want to live in Granville?” were our only introductions. Prominently featured in the video was the village’s Fourth of July celebration.
It’s hard to capture what happens in the Village of Granville during the week of Independence Day. The central Ohio community of just under 6,000 residents delivers a quintessential Midwestern celebration of patriotism. Fireworks, a parade, a carnival midway that takes up two blocks of downtown (okay, so downtown is only two blocks long), pet costume judging, egg tosses, and a bandstand offering everything from rock and roll to kids’ dance troupes – it’s all there. Food vendors offer elephant ears, fresh squeezed lemonade, and every imaginable fried food. Oh, one more thing…the carnies set up the Pharaoh’s Fury ride right outside the front door of St. Luke’s. You get the picture.
The church adopted the attitude of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and made the Sunday closest to the Fourth of July its local high holy day. The Book of Common Prayer offers readings and prayers for Independence Day and Hymnal 1982 has a section called “National Songs,” so the parish went all in.
Because the Fourth of July in Granville is also a time when many return to the village to visit family and friends, St. Luke’s billed the day as a parish homecoming. Terry and I were in charge of coffee hour each year and gave it an appropriately corny name – “Apple Pie with the Applegates.” The liturgical colors for the week were red, white, and blue.
As our country observes Independence Day tomorrow, we do so in a divided nation. I suppose that’s always been true to some degree, but it feels as though the fissures are wider than they’ve been for a long time.
Groups don’t just have different opinions; they have different facts. Aspects of America’s stories are no longer being told, our longstanding value of welcoming immigrants and refugees to our shores is in question, and the form of government for which our ancestors fought and died is undergoing a significant stress test.
How will you celebrate the Fourth of July this year? I hope you’ll have time with family and friends, maybe grill out, watch some fireworks and/or light a few sparklers. I also hope you’ll pray for the United States of America. Here’s a prayer you might use:
Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will.
Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way.
Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.
Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth.
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In addition to praying, I also plan to re-watch a reel that’s been circulating recently, featuring the former Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. In it, he tells the story of a conversation he had with his three-year-old daughter about the American flag. His daughter recognized the flag and asked her father, a Navy veteran who was deployed to the War in Afghanistan for seven months in 2011, what were some of the names by which the flag is known.
After telling her, “the Stars and Stripes,” “Old Glory,” and “The Star Spangled Banner,” Mayor Pete ran out of nicknames. He told the people listening to him that someday he will explain to his children what the flag means to him (and to all of us) about the values that the flag represents; the story, the very rich and complicated story of this country; and what makes this country great. You can watch the video on YouTube.
Is this Candidate Buttigieg rehearsing a campaign stump speech? Maybe…possibly…even probably. But it was refreshing to hear a politician speak honestly and inspiringly about our nation. And it will be inspiring when I watch it again tomorrow.
Happy 249th birthday, America! May you be the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” a place where there is “liberty and justice for all.”
Blessings,
Stephen Applegate
