A Proclamation.
*The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.*
*In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has beenmaintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.*
*Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.*
*No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.*
*It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.*
*In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.*
*Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.*
*By the President, Abraham Lincoln Year of our Lord, 1863*
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Times may continue to roll on like an army of steamrollers, but the words of Abraham Lincoln somehow ring familiar, even to the ears of this generation. It reminds us that something’s in this world are timeless and bring hope no matter the situation.
In the coming days we will gather with friends and family to join in feasting and fellowship. Perhaps you have had a year of abundance, perhaps a year of trial and struggle. Your house may be full of rowdy family or there may be an empty chair at the table this year. Regardless of your reality there still exists the opportunity for hope and reconciliation in the beginning of this Holiday Season. As we gather together may we embrace one another and these special moments in order to be rejuvenated and restored. Let us not dwell on the small petty things that may distract us from these times of fellowship. Instead, let us rejoice in the love from others and return that love in kind.
The Psalms were written during times of joy and in times of trial. And yet their words so often bring hope in all situations. Just as President Lincoln was able to call the nation to Thanksgiving in the midst of war and conflict; so the Psalmist calls us to Thanksgiving in all times and places as followers of God. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100
May you have a blessed time of feasting my friends, and then may we turn our eyes towards Bethlehem as we greet the coming of Christmas!
Your devoted brother in Christ,
Pastor Mike McVey
First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ASC Chaplain – United States Coast Guard
Chaplain – Texas Game Warden Service
