Today is Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember all who have died in military service. This is not the day to honor living veterans, although we are grateful for their service. They are honored on Veterans Day, November 11. Today is specifically to remember those who gave their lives for our country. It is sometimes called Decoration Day, because the graves of those who died in war are often decorated with flowers and flags for the occasion.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ~ John 15:13.
Those we honor on Memorial Day laid down their lives not just for friends they knew and loved but for strangers, for anyone who lives in this country.
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen. (1928 Book of Common Prayer)
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Today is Religious Freedom Day. According to 
BLESS, O Father, all thy servants in 2018 that they may feel thy presence, experience thy provision, know thy love and peace that passeth understanding, and serve and glorify thee; for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
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May the coming year be full of blessings from the Lord. May you be productive, loved, and filled with joy.
O MOST merciful Father, who hast blessed the labours of the husbandman in the returns of the fruits of the earth; We give thee humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty; beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness to us, that our land may still yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~ 1928 Book of Common Prayer