Something has been on my mind and my heart the last few days. I was invited to act as the voice of the narrator for a 4th celebration hosted at church and I am a bit nervous about it. Like many of you I have attended many of these musical celebrations over the years and have always enjoyed the patriotic hymns of our history, the honoring of those who have and do fight for the cause of Freedom… but I haven’t ever been a part of the program.  You might think as one who speaks to earn a living, what’s the big deal… I even get to read it.Â
But as I read the script - I found myself in that very special place of reading more than words…. often times we read and comprehend, but at other times, special and sacred times we read and feel…and some how empathically understanding and comprehending beyond the words… perhaps just beginning to grasp at the reality of what those we read of truly experienced.  I can’t think of a better way to convey it than that.Â
As I read the script of the program quietly in my office…I experienced such a moment. As I read it again in rehersal with the choir, and felt blessed to feel it again. I have included the entire program in today’s rare Sunday T4D so that perhaps you might have a similar experience. I wish I could include the songs, the pictures, the prayers and the pledge…but I cannot. The words written about and by better men and women than myself will have to carry the day. But I am confident that these words along with your consideration will be enough. (it is a bit lengthy…but for those who have the time and desire here it is) For all I wish you a happy 4th of July ~ Kirk
Sacred Honor - A Freedom Fireside by Victoria Wilcox
PRELUDE:Â “Patriot Suite” by John Williams
WELCOME:Â - POSTING OF COLORS/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:Â -Â INVOCATION:
MAN:Â When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare.
That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
CHOIR:Â “For Spacious Skies”
CHOIR: Â ”Simple Gifts” or “Grace”
NARRATOR: The colonies are filled with intelligent and talented men and women, brought together in one small place and one grand time. Among them is Benjamin Franklin, a writer and inventor. He publishes “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” full of his own unique philosophy.
MAN:Â A penny saved is a penny earned - Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise - God helps those who help themselves.
WOMAN: Mr. Franklin, you have so many wonderful inventions. You must patent them, for they will make you a wealthy man.
MAN: I refuse to use them for profit. Does not the God of heaven give us our abilities? It is my will that these inventions be used freely as my contribution to the comfort and convenience of my fellow men.
NARRATOR: Thomas Jefferson is another gentleman in the colonies who excels at more than just statesmanship. He is an architect, a lawyer, a farmer, and a scholar.
WOMAN:Â Thomas Jefferson has an abiding faith in God and his fellow men.
MAN: There are some who believe that the colonies should be under the rule of the King of England. Others believe we should choose our own ruler. I do not agree with either opinion. I believe that a free people, with the help of Almighty God, are capable of ruling themselves.
WOMAN:Â The Americans combine Christianity and liberty so intimately in their minds that it is difficult for them to conceive one without the other.
MAN: As a visitor to America, I sought for her greatness and genius in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields…and it was not there…Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
DUET: “How Can I Keep From Singing?”
  NARRATOR:       It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and the wind was from the southeast. Up especially early, a tall bony, redheaded young Virginian found time to buy a new thermometer, for which he paid three pounds, fifteen shillings. He also bought gloves for Martha, his wife, who has ill at home.
Thomas Jefferson arrived early at the statehouse. The temperature was 72.5 degrees and the horseflies weren’t nearly so bad at that hour. It was a lovely room, very large, with gleaming white walls. The chairs were comfortable. Facing the single door were two brass fireplaces, but they would not be used today.
The moment the door was shut, and it was always kept locked, the room became an oven. The tall windows were shut, so that loud quarreling voices could not be heard by passersby. Small openings atop the windows allowed a slight stir of air, and also a large number of horseflies. Jefferson records that “the horseflies were dexterous in finding necks, and the silk of stocking was nothing to them.” All discussion was punctuated by the slap of hands on necks.
On the wall at the back, facing the President’s desk, was a panoply-consisting of a drum, swords, and banners seized from Fort Ticonderoga the previous year. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the place, shouting that they were taking it “in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!” Now Congress got to work, promptly taking up an emergency measure about which there was discussion but no dissention. “Resolved: That an application be made to the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania for a supply of flints for the troops at New York.”  Then Congress transformed itself into a committee of the whole. The Declaration of Independence was read aloud once more, and debate resumed. Though Jefferson was the best writer of all of them, he had been somewhat verbose. Congress hacked the excess away.
They did a good job, as a side-by-side comparison of the rough draft and the final text shows. They cut the phrase “by a self-assumed power.” “Climb” was replaced by “must read,” then “must” was eliminated, then the whole sentence, and soon the whole paragraph was cut. Jefferson groaned as they continued what he later called “their depredations.” “Inherent and inalienable rights” came out “certain unalienable rights,” and to this day no one knows who suggested the elegant change. A total of 86 alterations were made. Almost 500 words were eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last, after three days of wrangling, the document was put to a vote. (From “Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor” by Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr.)
Here in this hall Patrick Henry had once thundered: “I am no longer a Virginian, Sir, but an American.” But today the loud, sometimes bitter argument stilled, and without fanfare the vote was taken from north to south by colonies, as was the custom. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
VIDEO CLIP:Â The Declaration from “John Adams”
NARRATOR: What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the crown? To each of us the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and Jefferson are household words. But most Americans know nothing of the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them?
With only a few exceptions, they were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th century. Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it.
John Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500 pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters, saying, “His Majesty can now read my name without glasses and can now double the reward.” Ben Franklin wryly noted: “Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately.”
These men knew what they risked. They were sober men. There were no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or draft card burners here. They were far from hot-eyed fanatics, yammering for an explosion. It was equality with the mother country they desired. It was taxation with representation they sought. It was principle, not property, which brought these men to Philadelphia. Yet they knew that what they did was treason against the crown, and the penalty for treason was death by hanging. But they were firm in their resolve. Stephan Hopkins from Rhode Island, was a man past 60. As he signed with a shaking pen, he declared: “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.”
CONGREGATION & CHOIR: “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” Hymns p339
NARRATOR: In Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell calls the citizens together to announce the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The inscription on the Liberty Bell, taken from Leviticus, Chapter 25, Verse 10, reads, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” The American had declared their independence, but they were prepared to fight to win it. The colonial militias join together as the Continental Army under General George Washington, with the British led by General Charles Cornwallis — the Colonies against the mother country; father against son, brother against brother.
CHOIR: “Liberty Song”
MAN: Our regiment had strict orders not to fire ‘till the British fired first, then to fire as fast as we could. We were within fifteen rods of their men when they fired three cannons, one after the other. I saw the balls strike in the river on the right of us. We was then all ordered to fire. It is strange there warn’t no more killed, but they fired too high…
WOMAN:Â A battle won.
MAN:Â A battle lost.
WOMAN:Â A British victory, a British defeat.
MAN:Â An American victory, an American retreat.
WOMAN: There are not enough uniforms or firearms. Our men are without shoes, and the snow is stained with blood from the soldiers’ feet.
MAN:Â These are the times that try men’s souls.
WOMEN:Â My Johnny, not yet fourteen-years-old, has left for the battlefield, his drum slung over his shoulder - still a child - but his young heart burns with patriotism.
MAN: It is with deep regret that we inform you of the death of your son in the Battle of Bunker Hill. As     a drummer for the Continental Army, he served valiantly and honorably in the cause of liberty. His uniform and drum will be sent to you at the earliest dispatch.
WOMAN: Is freedom less sweet to us than to our fathers, husbands, and sons? We women must join  them on the battlefield to assist in any way we can in the cause of liberty.
MAN: The British have 50,000 men and 456 ships. We have 20,000 men and 50 ships. Only with God’s help can we hope to win.
WOMAN: Valley Forge. Winter. Bitter cold. No food. No bandages. No supplies. Soldiers huddled around the campfires, their bloody feet wrapped in rags. Suffering, death. And yet hope - faith.
MAN: I, Thomas Jefferson, declare before all the world that our liberties are a gift from God, and they are not to be violated but with his wrath. Fight on for liberty!
WOMAN: The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Fight on for liberty!
MAN: Washington, Lafayette, King’s Mountain, Chesapeake Bay. And finally, Yorktown: October, 1781.
NARRATOR: After five long years, the British Army surrenders to George Washington and the Sons of Liberty. England signs a peace treaty acknowledging the independence of the thirteen colonies. The colonies unite and a new nation is born, the United States of America.
CHOIR: “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
NARRATOR:      America had declared her independence and won it. But what became of the men who had signed the declaration? Even before it was published, the British marked down every member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of them became the objects of manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near British strongholds suffered. Every one paid a price for independence, proving with their lives that freedom is not free.
           Francis Lewis, New York delegate. His home was plundered and his estates in what is now Harlem completely destroyed by British soldiers. His wife was captured and brutally treated. Though she was later exchanged for two British prisoners though the efforts of Congress, she died from the effects of her abuse.
           William Floyd, New York, escaped with his wife and children across Long Island Sound to Connecticut, where they lived as refugees without income for seven years. When they returned, they found their home a devastated ruin.
           Philips Livingstone, New York. His properties were confiscated and his family driven out of their home. He died before the war ended, still working in Congress for the cause.
           Louis Morris, New York. His timber, crops, and livestock were all taken. For seven years he was barred from his home and family.
           Judge Richard Stockton, New Jersey delegate, rushed back to his estate to evacuate his wife and children. The family found refuge with friends, but a Tory sympathizer betrayed them. Judge Stockton was pulled from bed in the night and brutally beaten by the arresting soldiers. Thrown into a common jail, he was deliberately starved. Congress finally arranged for Stockton’s parole, but his health was ruined. The judge was released as an invalid, when he could no longer harm the British cause. He returned home to find his estate looted and did not live to see the triumph of the revolution.
           Robert Morris, merchant prince of Philadelphia, met Washington’s appeals and pleas for money year after year. He made and raised arms and provisions which made it possible for Washington to cross the Delaware at Trenton. In the process he lost 150 ships at sea, bleeding his own fortune and credit almost dry.
           George Clymer, Pennsylvania, escaped with his family from their home, but their property was completely destroyed by the British in the Germantown and Brandywine campaigns.
           William Ellery, Rhode Island, saw his property and home burned to the ground.
           Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward, Jr., South Carolina signers, were taken by the British in the siege of Charleston. They were carried as prisoners of war to St. Augustine, where they were singled out for indignities. They were exchanged at the end of the war, the British in the meantime having completely devastated their large landholdings and estates.
           Thomas Lynch, Jr., South Carolina, had his health broken from privation and exposures while serving as a company commander in the military. His doctors ordered him to seek a cure in the West Indies and on the voyage he and his young bride were drowned at sea.
           Thomas Nelson, Virginia, was at the front in command of the Virginia military forces, turning seventy heavy American guns against Yorktown, where British General Charles Cornwallis had moved his headquarters into Nelson’s own home. While American cannonballs made a shambles of the town, Governor Nelson’s family home remained untouched.  He turned in rage to the American gunners and asked, “Why do you spare my home?” They replied, “Sir, out of respect to you.”  Nelson cried, “Give me the cannon!” and fired on his magnificent home himself, destroying it.
           John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey, risked his life to return home to see his dying wife. Hessian soldiers rode after him, and he escaped into the woods. While his wife lay on her deathbed, the soldiers ruined his farm and wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65, slept in caves and woods as he was hunted across the countryside. When at long last, emaciated by hardship, he was able to sneak home, he found his wife had already been buried, and his 13 children taken away. He never saw them again.
Abraham Clark, New Jersey. He gave two sons to the officer corps in the Revolutionary Army. They were captured and sent to one of the infamous British prison ships afloat in New York Harbor where 11,000 American captives were to die. The younger Clarks were treated with a special brutality because of their father. One was put in solitary and given no food. With the end almost in sight with the war almost won, no one could have blamed Abraham Clark for acceding to the British request when they offered him his sons’ lives if he would recant and come out for the King and Parliament. The utter despair in this man’s heart, the anguish in his very soul, must reach out to each and one of us down through 200 years with his answer: “No.”
           Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. As they vowed, so they lived: And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
CHOIR: “Homeland”
CHOIR:Â “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor”
NARRATOR:    Liberty, freedom, free agency: the first great gift of God that brought a war even in heaven and that our Savior pledged to protect. Free Agency, that allows us to follow good or evil, that tests the limits of our faith. Who will follow righteousness? Who will choose to offer sacred honor? We honor those with still fight for liberty, who honor the heritage of our founding fathers by pledging their lives in freedom’s defense. Please stand and be recognized as we sing the anthem of your area of service. We also invite family of active service men and women to stand and be honored.
CHOIR: “Salute to the Armed Forces”
CHOIR: “Morning Breaks on Arlington”
NARRATOR: (From the Independence Day Speech, July 4, 2002, by President George W. Bush)     The anniversary of America’s independence is a day for gratitude, and a day for celebration. On the 4th of July, we count our blessings, and there are so many to count. We’re thankful for the families we love. We’re thankful for the opportunities in America. We’re thankful for our freedom, the freedom declared by our founding fathers, defended by many generations and granted to each one of us by Almighty God. Americans know that our country did not come about by chance. Our nation was first designed as a colony, serving an empire and answering to a king. The founders had other things in mind. In the summer of 1776, they declared that these colonies are and, of right, ought to be free and independent states.
With a great army massed against the Americans, these were not idle words. “Stepping forward to sign the Declaration,” said Dr. Benjamin Rush, “was like signing your own death warrant.” Yet he and 55 others put their name on the document, pledging to the cause their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. All Americans can draw a straight line from the free lives we lead today to that one moment when the world changed forever. From that day in 1776, freedom has had a home, and freedom has had a defender.
Unlike any other country, America came into the world with a message for mankind — that all are created equal, and all are meant to be free. There is no American race; there’s only an American creed: We believe in the dignity and rights of every person. We believe in equal justice, limited government, and in the rule of law. We believe in personal responsibility, and tolerance toward others. This creed of freedom and equality has lifted the lives of millions of Americans, of citizens by birth and citizens by choice. This creed draws our friends to us. It sets our enemies against us, and always inspires the best that is within us.
               There is much in modern America that the founding generation might not understand. Yet, they would recognize the Stars and Stripes, and they would know qualities of character that still define our country. A year after independence was declared, the Second Continental Congress set the design of our nation’s flag. The stars on blue were to represent a new constellation, the different world our young nation had begun to create. Today, as much as ever before, America bears the hope of the world. Yet, from the day of our founding, America’s own great hope has never been in ourselves alone. The founders humbly sought the wisdom and the blessing of Divine Providence. May we always live by that same trust, and may God continue to watch over the United States of America.
 CHOIR: “The Star-Spangled Banner”
BENEDICTION
  “Most people spend more time planning their grocery shopping than designing their future. The basic difference between people who live their dreams and those who only dream about how they would live, are the accuracy of their plans, their ability to generate new ideas, and their ability to take action.” ~- Unknown
