Here, on this level place, this clearing in the wilderness, for 238 years voices have been raised in revelry, protest, and prayer.
Today, again, we raise our voices – in celebration of those gathered here now, in gratitude for those who have gone before, and in hope for those who will come after.
For every voice of wisdom that has spoken to us here, we give thanks.
For the voices not heard, because they have been discounted or hopeless, we grieve.
We remember those who are present with us now only in their keenly felt absence: loved ones, family, friends whose spirits hover around us; those who are at war and in war; those who are far away.
We give thanks to you, O God, creator of us all, for all those who have found here a voice to speak for what they know and believe to be right and true and good and just. May their voices resound and be heard in a world that seeks and needs – and yet often spurns - such words. Amen.
