On deployment, I learned about Juneteenth. I think it should be a federal holiday.
Below is the invocation I wrote for evening prayer, as we were underway at the time.
Let us pray.
On June 19th,
1865, the Union army arrived in Galveston Texas,
proclaiming
all slaves free.
It had taken two years for the word to finally reach the far corners of the United States.
Lord on High,
This was a holy
moment in time,
where America took its first steps to redeem
itself,
and seek to begin to fulfill the vision and promise that all people are created equal.
Juneteenth embodied the words written on the Statue of Liberty, “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to be free..:”
In Genesis
chapter 1, You taught us that we, Your creations,
were created
by you,
making us equal in Your eyes ---- Not some of us - - not a few of us - - ALL of us.
God, we ask that you guide us to continue to blaze the trail of harmony between all Your people. Help us to realize the vision of your prophet,
Harriet Tubman, that “Every Great Dream, begins with a Dreamer.
Always
remember that you have with you the strength,
the patience, and the passion to reach for the
stars to change the world.”
Amen.
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