St. Matthews Newsletter- March 2004
St Matthews Newsletter - July, 2004Reflections on the Birthday of our Country On this fourth of July, 2004, we celebrate the 228th birthday of our great nation. This is possible because of the courageous actions of our forefathers in 1776 and because of the heroism and loyalty of so many Americans throughout the ensuing years. Now, as our nation fights once more to preserve our freedom and our safety, we may gain strength and courage by re-reading these excerpted passages from that great document, the Declaration of Independence. "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." And declare them they did, prefacing a long list of grievances with this statement: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..." And concluding, "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That the United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States...absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor." Many in our country today will celebrate the Fourth of July as an important but secular national holiday, ignoring or dismissing the reliance our forefathers placed on the Will of Almighty God. The Church acknowledges our religious heritage by providing a collect as well as epistle and gospel readings for the celebration of the Mass honoring Independence Day. Thanks be to God for His continual blessings on our beloved country. (Editorial Note: While serving as a Navy Wave in Washington, D. C., I was privileged to be a member of a military honor guard attending the moving of the Declaration of Independence to the National Archives Building in 1952. There it is displayed with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.
COLLECTION OF FOOD FOR IRAQ Dorothy Friend, on behalf of her son, Air Force SMSgt. Richard
Friend and his fellow airmen in Iraq, wishes to thank everyone who
contributed food items in response to the request of the Outreach
Committee of St. Anne's Guild. The quantity of items received was
truly overwhelming and Dorothy has already sent two shipments off,
with several more to follow. Thanks again for your compassionate
response to this very worthwhile cause.
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