A Prayer for Beaufort
Upon Her 300th Birthday
The following invocation, created and presented by Bishop Alden Hathaway, at the City's 300th Birthday Party on January 17, 2011 and at Founders Night II which brought to an end our tricentennial year on December 31, 201, provides an incredible spiritual insight into our hometown.
Thankyou Bishop.We are fortunate to have you participating actively in our very special community.
Billy Keyserling
I am hoping to have the invocation printed and framed for City Hall as a reminder of the tricentennial and this one man's view of Beaufort' rich history and diverse background.
BEAUFORT BIRTHDAY PRAYER
January 17 and December 31, 2011
Now this birthday year 2011 almost spent, let us pray:
Father God, creator of heaven and earth,
Maker of sea and sky and river deep
Of islands fair and gold marsh creeks
We gather here because we love this land.
Sovereign Lord over all peoples and nations
Author of freedom and Prince of Peace,
Gathered we have been from far and near
From Spain and France and England
Africans in chains, original Yemassee
From north and south, east and west
Those who came early and those of us who came late
We are together here today because
We are Beaufort.
Oh God our help in ages past
The unfolding years, now 300 since
John (Tuscarora Jack) Barnwell
The charter of Beaufort town
Of wars and conquests, of gray and blue
Robert Smalls and Reconstruction
Of building and burning, of wealth and want
Rich harvests of indigo and cotton and rice
And crops of the field
Storms and blight, wind and flood
For Dr. King, his dream shaped at Penn
Brantley Harvey and Harriet Keyserling
All those through whom our current public and political life has been formed
And
Our skies streaked by freedom's sound
Drill instructor's sharp commands
Pat Conroy to tell the stories that describe our manners and our ways
For church towers and steeple bells
And synagogue Shabbat
The faith of our fathers living still.
Oh Lord of light and palm and moon
Bay Street and restaurant chatter
Gullah Grub and Foolish Frog
Boating, fishing, and water joys
Bicycle races around the streets
Ghost tours under mossy oaks
Parades to mark the great events of our common American life
Band concerts by river's edge and fireworks over pluff mud banks
And parking meters that cause us grief
(Thank you town - they are holiday free)
And lighted Christmas tree
To honor thee oh Lord of Life
It is our town, dear God - We love it so.
Gracious Lord, Good Shepherd, of abiding good care
Bless our mayor
And council and fire and police
Those who keep our accounts and haul our trash
Who make their business to satisfy our wants and service our needs
And sort out our issues and worldly disputes
By justice and by right
Who teach our kids and inspire our youth
Of physicians and surgeons and nurses --- Who care for the sick
Who comfort the lonely, the troubled, the weak
The dying
And who bury our dead.
And those who would tell of the city not made with hands
The City of God
In which by hope and by faith
Would make of us a people and a town
Of truly gracious welcome, love, and respect
For both neighbor and stranger, ever and always, good keepers shall we be.
And so Dear Lord, abide with us we pray
As together in joyful celebration we conclude
Our 300th birthday year.
That as you have been guiding and chiding and inspiring our past
So in thanksgiving and hope we may look to the future
Content and at peace that You will
Bless, preserve and keep Beaufort Town.
Oh God of our fathers by whose mighty hand
Continue to lead forth in beauty
All this blessed land.
Amen.
Books Sandwiched In
2012
Jan 9th: THE BIG SHORT by Michael Lewis presented by Kenneth Hirsch
Jan 23rd: THAT USED TO BE US by Thomas Friedman presented by
Dr. Valerie Truesdale
Jan 30th: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson presented by Deanna Bowdish
Feb 6th: HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard presented by Charles D. Frost
Feb 13th: BLEAK HOUSE by Charles Dickens presented by Robert R. Googins
Feb 20th: UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand presented by Gary Kubic
Feb 27th: FLYING: A NOVEL by Paula Helfrich and Rebecca Sprecher presented by Rebecca Sprecher
Location: USCB Beaufort Center for the Art Time: Noon to 1:00 PM
801 Carteret Street
Doors open at 11:30 AM
Bring your lunch or purchase it from Outtakes Cafe in the lobby of USCB
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