Suggested lessons for Veterans' Day

First Lesson:
Wisdom 3: 1-9 or Psalm 33: 1-8, 18-22 or 130

Second Lesson:
1 John 4: 7-21

Gospel:
John 15: 9-17

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"Honoring Our Veterans"
in English and Spanish

AN ORDER OF WORSHIP
FOR THE EVENING
in thanksgiving for the generous service of our Veterans of the Armed Forces
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Diocese of Nebraska
Veterans Day, 11 November 2007

A Prayer for Veterans Day

Governor of Nations, our Strength and Shield:
we give you thanks for the devotion and courage
of all those who have offered military service for this country:

For those who have fought for freedom; for those who laid down their lives for others;
for those who have borne suffering of mind or of body;
for those who have brought their best gifts to times of need.

On our behalf they have entered into danger,
endured separation from those they love,
labored long hours, and borne hardship in war and in peacetime.

Lift up by your mighty Presence those who are now at war;
encourage and heal those in hospitals
or mending their wounds at home;
guard those in any need or trouble;
hold safely in your hands all military families;
and bring the returning troops to joyful reunion
and tranquil life at home;

Give to us, your people, grateful hearts
and a united will to honor these men and women
and hold them always in our love and our prayers;
until your world is perfected in peace

through Jesus Christ our Savior.

This prayer may be used as a congregational litany with the following responses to each stanza:

1. We thank you and praise you, our Strength and Shield!

2. We thank you and praise you, our Strength and Shield!

3. We than you and praise you, our Strength and Shield!

4. Watch over and keep them, Blessed Savior.

5. Hear our prayer in His Name. Amen.

Compiled by the Rev. Jennifer Phillips, Vicar, St. Augustine’s Chapel, University of Rhode Island campus. Her prayers appear in supplemental liturgical materials for the Episcopal Church and in her books of prayers including “Simple Prayers for Complicated Lives.”

A Litany for Divine Assistance and Peace

For the peace and welfare of our planet,
we commit our care and ask your assistance, gracious God.

For human will and effort to protect our climate and resources,
we seek your wisdom and assistance.

For peace and compassion in the whole human family,
we seek your grace and assistance.

For hearts to attend to, love, and appreciate your Creation,
we ask your grace and assistance.

For discipline and self-control of our appetites and habits that may harm the earth,
we seek your grace and assistance.

For those ruling the nations, including our own,
we seek your wisdom and assistance.

For all those negotiating and laboring for peace and justice,
we seek your wisdom and assistance.

For civilians caught up in the horrors of war,
we ask your protection and assistance.

For all families separated and fearful because of war,
we ask your presence and assistance.

For all who bear arms that they may come soon to a time of peace,
we ask your presence and assistance.

For prisoners, refugees, and all wounded by war and conflict,
we ask your healing and assistance.

For those who suffer torture and mistreatment,
we ask your healing and assistance.

For the transformation of heart and will of all who torture and mistreat others, and all who condone torture,
we ask your presence and assistance,

For all those haunted by the traumas of war,
we ask your healing and assistance.

for all conscripted to fight against their will,
we ask your presence and assistance.

for conscientious objectors to military service,
we ask your presence and assistance.

For the will to see our enemies as your children like ourselves,
we ask your grace and assistance.

For the strength and courage to be peacemakers ourselves,
we ask for your grace and assistance.

Trusting in your will and power to redeem and save sinners,
we ask your forgiveness and assistance.

Compiled by the Rev. Jennifer Phillips, Vicar, St. Augustine’s Chapel, University of Rhode Island campus.
Her prayers appear in supplemental liturgical materials for the Episcopal Church and in her books of prayers including
“Simple Prayers for Complicated Lives.”

In the midst of hunger and war,
we celebrate the promise of plenty and peace.

In the midst of oppression and tyranny,
we celebrate the promise of service and freedom.

In the midst of doubt and despair,
we celebrate the promise of faith and hope.

In the midst of fear and betrayal,
we celebrate the promise of joy and loyalty.

In the midst of hatred and death,
we celebrate the promise of love and life.

In the midst of sin and decay,
we celebrate the promise of salvation and renewal.

In the midst of death on every side,
we celebrate the promise of the Living Christ.

(Iona Litany for Peace)

Suggested Prayers for Veterans’ Day

COLLECTS IN BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER:

4. For Peace, p. 815

6. For our Enemies, p. 816

25. For those in the Armed Services, p. 823

28. In Times of Conflict, p. 824

55. For a Person in Bereavement, p. 831

COLLECT FOR HEROIC SERVICE

O judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept it disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

"A Veterans Day Reflection”
by the Rev. Dr. George Clifford,
U.S. Navy Chaplain, Captain (Retired)

Veterans Day is quickly becoming simply another public holiday, an opportunity for people to sleep late, stay home from school, or get a head start on Christmas shopping. Today, many see joining the military as a way out of rural communities or urban poverty; military recruiters emphasize educational opportunities and career bonuses. These perceptions, per se, are not bad. However, when the draft ended in 1973 and the U.S. military became an all volunteer force, any remaining sense of military service as an obligation that citizens owed to their nation disappeared. Similarly, aspiring politicians no longer consider military service an essential, if unofficial, prerequisite to elective office. Many U.S. citizens do not know anyone in the military and have little awareness of what military life is like.

In the last four decades, the U.S. has increasingly frequently turned to the military as the instrument of choice for implementing foreign policy. The U.S. conducted military operations in Grenada, Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and numerous, less well know places. Regardless of whether one regards an operation as morally right, each operation took a toll on our military personnel. They repeatedly went into harm’s way, sometimes were killed or wounded, sometimes sacrificing important time and relationships at home, and always answering duty’s call to serve their country.

In other words, while reliance on the military to execute foreign policy has increased the American public feels less connected and less of a debt to its men and women in uniform. Veterans Day is an opportunity to change that. We need to remember that the military only implements policies formulated and adopted by our nation’s elected officials. Because we live in a democracy in which government is of and by the people, if we do not like our nation’s policies, then we have only ourselves to blame. Blaming military personnel for policies one believes immoral or failed, as happened during the Vietnam War, is wrong. Active political participation, seeking to influence public policy to match more closely our Christian convictions, is the most important way in which citizens can support their troops. Other significant ways to support our troops include regularly praying for their safety, communicating our support to them through correspondence, caring for families and loved ones during separations, and helping returned warriors transition back to civilian life.

The time has come to make Veterans Day more than parades, wreath laying, flags in cemeteries, and patriotic slogans. This Veterans Day, support our troops.