Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

Words of Faith on the Mall

This past weekend, as part of the '12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots' event on the National Mall, a Sunday morning prayer service paid tribute to the service personnel dismissed under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Members of the clergy came together to deliver a moving service, and we wanted to share some of their words with you here on Frontlines. Captain Mike Rankin, M.D., USN (Ret.), a member of SLDN's military advisory council, delivered the following remarks: We have gathered to honor those who defended our nation and our freedoms in all our nation’s wars, even if those freedoms were not always granted to them, and to us. Some, like Harvey Milk and Leonard Matlovich, were famous, the glory of their times. Others—perhaps most—are known only to those who loved them. We honor them all. You were at Valley Forge and Yorktown, at Gettysburg, Anteitam, and Shiloh. We admire your courage, and we remember you. You fought and fell on Flanders fields, aboard the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, in the skies over Midway, on the Normandy beaches, and in the snows of Bastogne and the Chosin Reservoir. We honor your sacrifice; we will never forget. We were together in the Ia Drang, at Hue during Tet, in the Marine barracks in Beruit, in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq. We knew and still know the terror of battle, the exhilaration of survival, the awful pain of burying our dead. We were comrades in arms; we remain so forever. Know the green good, you whom we loved. Under a prayer wheeling moon in the rosy wood, be shielded by chant and flower. And gay may you lie in grace. Sister that I Held Near Sister that I held near, comrade that I loving embraced, we will not forget you. In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we will remember. In the opening buds and in the rebirth of spring, we will remember. In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, we will remember. In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn, we will remember. May the God who makes peace in the heavens make peace for us here below. For those we honor this day. And for all the world. Amen. Chaplain (CAPT) John Gundlach, USN (Ret.) also spoke at the event, and delivered the followin remarks: Prayer for Our Brothers and Sisters Gracious God, you have made each of us in your image. In your eyes all that you have made is good. Yet, too many in this land have been found unacceptable for too long--because of the color of their skin, the country they came from, their gender, or their sexual orientation. We have gathered here this weekend to remember those who have suffered discrimination and abuse because of their sexual orientation. We particularly remember our brothers and sisters who have offered themselves in the service of our country, only to be turned away or turned out. We remember the 12,000 who in recent years have been found unworthy to serve, whose contributions to the common good have been rejected. We mourn the loss of so great a gift to our nation. But we also gather to celebrate. We celebrate our brothers and sisters who have served our country so faithfully for so long, some even to the point of giving their last full measure of devotion. We honor them, not only because of their willingness to offer their lives, but because their service required the additional sacrifice of part of their true identity. God, you know who they are, even if this nation never will. Today, we hold them all in our hearts—those who served in the past, and those who continue to serve today. We give thanks for them, and we take pride in them. O God, we pray for our country. We pray for those who lead us, those who make our laws, and those who pass judgment over us. We pray for our people. Open the eyes of all to see as you see; open the hearts of all to want for one’s neighbor the rights one expects for oneself; open the minds of all to your wisdom that will enable us to forsake our prejudicial norms and embrace a more just society. May your will be done in this land, and may your way become our way. This is our prayer and our hope. Amen. Benediction Go forth into the world in peace. Return to no one evil for evil. But work for justice, practice kindness, and walk humbly with your God. And may God, whose way is just and whose heart is kind, give you courage and bring you peace. Amen. Thank you to everyone who attended the 12,000 Flags events, and to Captain Gundlach and Captain Rankin for their inspiring words of faith on the Mall.

Labels: events

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12-06-07