This poem, by our own Marcia Rutan, will be featured as a reading & a blessing on Sunday, 11/1, as we go into election week.  

 

Invocation of American Spirit

Oh, Mothers and Fathers of this great country,
help us lay down our swords and pick up
our hearts for this beautiful nation

Guard us against civil war and corruption
Plant in us seeds of compassion, strong
and enduring in shifting tides and winds

Spark alive again in us the dream of America
as free and healthy, liberated
and resourceful, dedicated to fulfilling

our Constitutional commitmentto include all people – whatever creed,
race, gender, religion, or political party

Help us release our fear of each other,
our arrogance and opinionated rigidity
Teach us to listen and learn, to trust

the sturdy spirit of this union of states,
bound together to emancipate all
from persecution, inequality, and tyranny

Restore our humility, our ploughshares,
and community, woven from the tapestry
of history, that we might mature

as a nation, leading through principles
of benevolence, integrity, and the power
that springs from devotion and service

Remind us to give thanks every day
for the individual freedom we enjoy and
for our collective responsibility to care for

all people of this country, to nourish all
children with kindness and capability,
and to treat this beautiful land we walk on

with respect and reverence, grateful
for the life we are graced to enjoy. Mothers
and Fathers of this country, we honor

your courage to dream big and act
on that dream. May we wisely grow into
a full manifestation of that dream,

unified as one American people,
flying our flag by the tenets of a greater
purpose: freedom and justice for all

May the sacrifices you made, the blood
you spilled for this vision, inspire us to align
as a true republic, shine a healing light

and pledge our considerable energy
for good. May your hands steady ours
in this shifting, tumbling, groaning world

May you be as proud of us as we are
proud of you. May the bells of liberty
and unity resound in our hearts and bones.

In Love We Trust

 

-Marcia Rutan