Flint Expatriates: A Prayer for Michigan

Thursday, April 18, 2013

A Prayer for Michigan

An invocation delivered at the Michigan House of Representatives by The Rev. Bill Freeman, minister at All Spirits Church in Holland.

Spirit of Love, known by many names: God and Goddess, Yahweh and Allah, Dios and Divine, Nature and Nothing.

May we be grateful for the cities and towns of Michigan: From Detroit to Decatur, from Lansing to Ludington, from Grand Rapids to Grand Blanc, from Holland to Howell, from Muskegon to Munising, from Flint to Farmington Hills, from Benton Harbor to Harbor Springs.

May we be grateful for the beauty of Michigan and may it always be preserved and protected: From the Southern border to the Northern expanse, from the West Coast to the East, from Sleeping Bear Dunes to Boyne Mountain, from cherry trees to blueberry bushes.

May we be grateful for the sports teams of Michigan and may they always exhibit good sportsmanship: From the Tigers to the Lions, from the Pistons to the Red Wings, from the Spartans to the Wolverines.

And may we be grateful for all the people of Michigan: Young and old, male and female, workers and retirees, police officers and firefighters, artists and artisans, those with various abilities and capabilities, native-born and immigrants, believers and doubters, married and single, straight and gay, people of color and those of us who wish we were.

Some of us may come here today having faith in freedom and democracy. Some of us may come here today having faith in truth and goodness. Some of us may come here today having faith in liberty and justice for all. We pray that our faith is fortified in this magnificent place, today and every day.

Perhaps it’s providential rather than coincidental that our state is shaped like a hand. May it act as a divine reminder to us all, especially our elected leaders, to lend a hand to those in need, particularly the most vulnerable among us: The children, the elderly, and the poor. May we always treat the Have-Nots with at least as much dignity and respect as we treat the Have-Lots.

Now and forevermore. Let it be. Blessed be. So be it. And: Amen.

1 comment:

JWillyApril 18, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Groovy.
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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.

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