Simon’s Says
I have fond memories of the bicentennial. I had just graduated from college, and the start of graduate school was on the near horizon. The family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, the whole crew) July 4th picnics were always held at our house, we had a pool in the backyard, and the adults saved all year so we could celebrate in fine fashion with steaks on the grill. The city of Meriden held a bicentennial parade, high school and college friends dropped by through the day, and the weather was perfect.
Some have observed that this year’s 250th anniversary of America’s birthday feels a little more muted than that celebration back in 1976. Two wars dominate the headlines, our own nation’s versus Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Inflation is taking a bite out of everyone’s paycheck, part of the White House has been in shambles for months, and there are competing celebrations for the semiquincentennial, America 250 and Freedom 250.
But memory tends to smooth over the rough edges of history, particularly our lived history. 1976 was but one year removed from the end of the Vietnam War, the images of the fall of Saigon were still vivid in the American mind, our soldiers were returning to a less-than-enthusiastic welcome and they brought an epidemic of PTSD with them. A year before that the President resigned in disgrace after lying to his constituents, the American people, and much of the approaching Presidential election seemed bounce back-and-forth between coverup and truth-telling.
And still our republic survived. We are a tenacious people, and when the nation appears most polarized, we have still stood united. This Sunday we are going to look at the church’s attitude toward this weekend’s Independence Day observances, and how people of faith both discover and live out our hope in times of challenge and celebration alike.
And remember, worship begins at 9:00 this Sunday and throughout the summer.
Links to Sunday’s bulletin and service are here: