As you plan for Veterans’ Day events, don’t forget Strength for Service to God and Country.
It is a perfect time to raise funds for the book to be given to deployed troops. Visit www.strengthforservice.org for information about the book and ways to donate.
While we continue to set our thermostats at comfortable levels and complain about gas prices and the economy, U.S. troops would love the opportunity to register similar complaints.
Marines joke about life at “Hotel Camp Fallujah,” a forward operating base that operates under the logo, “May we all check out and remember those who didn’t.”
“Everything smells like low tide,” says a Marine stationed at Camp Fallujah. “Garbage is all over the place. A dead donkey eaten by dogs is in the middle of the road. And after giving chocolate to children we are hit by an IED (improvised explosive devise).”
It seems wrong for us to attend movies and complain about an eight-hour-work day when troops are sweating, choking with dust, coping with wounds and living with the stench of death.
While giving up luxuries would do little to improve the conditions of combatants, we do have the opportunity to provide them with spiritual comfort and strength through the Strength for Service Fund.
Men and women, who might otherwise give little thought to ultimate questions, are led by combat conditions to ask questions about their personal beliefs and practices. They are open to the gospel as never before, but they need a spiritual resource to help them find focus and hope.
Thanks to generous people, the same little book that provided spiritual nourishment for soldiers, sailors and marines in World War II and the Korean War now fit neatly in the pockets of thousands of members of our Armed Forces.
As you plan for a Veterans' Day service, you might want to use the following resources recommended by the General Board of Discipleship.
Resources in The Book Of Worship
Number 428, Prayer for Peace with Justice Sunday (may use musical response, number 195, The Book of Worship)
Number 440, A Prayer for Memorial Day
Number 495, "A Litany for the Church and for the World"
Number 511, "Prayer for Gods Reign"
Number 513, "Prayer for Justice"
Numbers 515-516, two "Prayers for the Nation"
Number 517, "A Prayer in a Time of National Crisis"
Number 520, "Prayer for Peace"
Number 526, "Prayer for the World and Its Peoples"
Number 542, "Prayer for Those In Military Service"
Resources in The United Methodist Hymnal
Prayer For Our Country, 429
"For the Healing of the Nations," 428
"Let There Be Peace on Earth," 431
"O God of Every Nation," 435
"This Is My Song," 437
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic," 717
Suggested Scripture Readings
Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 17-21: What does God require of a nation?
Psalm 2: Warning to rulers of the earth.
Psalm 72: A prayer for justice and righteousness.
Amos 5:11-15: Establish justice.
Galatians 5:13-26: The proper use of freedom.
John 8:31-36: True freedom.
A Litany for United States Forces
(One-time permission to print and use this litany in congregational worship has been granted by The Armed Forces Chaplains' Board, Washington, D.C.)
Leader: Let us give thanks to God for the land of our birth with all its chartered liberties. For all the wonder of our country's story:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For leaders in nation and state, and for those who in days past and in these present times have labored for the commonwealth:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For those who in all times and places have been true and brave, and in the worlds common ways have lived upright lives and ministered to their fellows:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: For those who served their country in its hour of need, and especially for those who gave even their lives in that service:
People: We give you thanks, O God.
Leader: O almighty God and most merciful Father, as we remember these your servants, remembering with gratitude their courage and strength, we hold before you those who mourn them. Look upon your bereaved servants with your mercy. As this day brings them memories of those they have lost awhile, may it also bring your consolation and the assurance that their loved ones are alive now and forever in your living presence.