Presidents' Day
About this article
This prayer helps youth celebrate the founder of the United States, George Washington.I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2)
These words from Genesis are the words spoken by God to Abraham, a first ancestor of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. George Washington is considered to be a founder of the United States. What would Washington say today were he to look upon the city that bears his name and the country he served as its first president? What makes a nation great? Is the United States a blessing?
Dear God, on this day we pause to thank you for the women and men who have heard your call to leadership and responded. We stand on their shoulders. Help us to continue to make our nation great, as you would have us great: that is, a nation of peace, justice, charity, and community.
Acknowledgments
(This prayer is taken from Good News, Day by Day: Bible Reflections for Teens, by Dee Bernhardt, Larry Schatz, and Laurie Ziliak [Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press, 1999], page 59. Copyright © 1999 by Saint Mary's Press. Permission is granted for this prayer to be used for classroom or campus ministry purposes. This prayer may not be republished in any form without written permission from Saint Mary's Press. To order this book, contact Saint Mary's Press at 800-533-8095, or visit our online catalog at www.smp.org/catalog.cfm.)
Published January 6, 2004.
