America at 250

Andrew Guffey • July 4, 2026

One Nation Under God?

On July 3, 1776 John Adams, later to become the second President of the United States of America, wrote to his favorite correspondent, his wife Abigail Adams, to inform her that the Continental Congress had voted in favor of independence from Great Britain on July 2, a day that he believed of epochal significance. He wrote:


I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. -- I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. -- Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.


In the end, it was the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, that would attract all of the pomp, parade, and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other. But Adams was right that the moment would be commemorated with celebration. In this brief excerpt Adams mentions God twice, and he uses the religious language of deliverance, devotion, and glory. It is worth asking the question, then: how might we reflect on America at 250?


On the one hand, it is entirely appropriate to celebrate the nation. But we gravely misunderstand what such celebration ought to be if we turn our celebration into worship. Adams and many of the other Founders of the country believed that God was indeed guiding them toward what is right, even though it would be costly. From the very beginning of our nation, our common story has been draped in religious language. But the Founders were also clear that it was the ideals of the nation--the "self-evident" truths "that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; and that among these rights are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"--it was these ideals that were worthy of honor and reverence, not the levers of power. This is the grand and bold vision of humanity that informed the Founders--one in which all humans are created equal, where no one is born better than another. That's why this nation has always upheld birthright citizenship, for instance. And because humans are created equal by God, the Founders saw a vision of a society in which all were guaranteed access to life, liberty, and the chance for happiness. It is this vision that is America.


How do you celebrate your birthday? Certainly there is likely to be celebration, because as both the Gospel and the Founders recognize, every human life--yours included--is of value. You've made it another year around the sun. You are here, you are alive, together with us. That's worth celebrating. But if you're like me, you might also spend some time taking stock of your life--Are you accomplishing what you had hoped? Are you working toward your goals? Are you growing into the person you are still hoping to become? What task remains undone? What part of your vision unfulfilled? What part of your story still unwritten?


We should treat the "birthday" of the nation no differently. America is not a reality to worship. America has always been a vision, a horizon that beckoned us onward. The vision of the Founders, reiterated by many great patriots throughout the last 250 years, remains unfinished. More than that, many of us have become so lulled by our own sense that we were inevitably moving toward that vision that we neglected the fact that we can also grow forgetful of its purpose. We can, in the name of the vision, betray the vision. We can, in the name of the dream, create a nightmare.


The Declaration of Independence is a great American document, and I encourage you all to read it. Thirty-four of its fifty-six signers were Anglicans who would go on to be some of the first Episcopalians. But so is the speech of Frederick Douglass given on July 5, 1852, "What to the American Slave is the Fourth of July?" Douglass's speech reminds us that the vision of the nation was unfinished in his time. I encourage you to read it also. Douglass, like Dr. King after him, was able to praise America for its vision, and boldly point out its failings. He does not mince words, the institution of slavery betrayed the very ideals for which Adams and Jefferson, Washington and Hamilton, and so many others were willing to sacrifice much. As the nation turns 250, those of us who call ourselves Americans ought to have the same resolve the Founders had--that no flag or allegiance is owing to empty power. Allegiance, sacrifice, and honor are due to the triumph of justice, of liberty, of what is right--higher than the laws that are written.


And all of us this points us, ultimately, beyond the nation. In Isaiah 2, the prophet receives a word from the LORD:


The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
    and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
    Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations
    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
    neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!


This is the vision that the American vision gestures toward, but it is not a vision for America only, just as the vision of Isaiah was not for Judah only. All the nations will stream to God's house to learn God's ways. "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more." The nation of equality, liberty, and justice points, at its best, beyond itself to the peaceable kingdom of God. And that is worth celebrating with pomp and parade. But the celebration ought to spur us to greater resolve not to glory in the nation, but in the humanity it fosters. And when it no longer fosters the best in us, when in the course of human events our memory fades, it is our duty to bring ourselves to account, to recall our sacred purpose and the barely guessed-at purposes of God for our nation.


The flag bows to the cross. The American nation must one day give way to the coming kingdom. Until then we do well to uphold the vision of the founders as a mirror we look into 250 years on, and ask ourselves: do we worship the teetering project that remains unfulfilled, do we give reverence to this imperfect nation, or will we have the courage to continue to build a nation, in all the light that God may shed, toward greater justice, greater liberty, greater equality for all people? Will we serve our nation with prayer and reverence for what is right and good, or will we succumb to the temptation that this is as good as it is likely to get?


As America turns 250, I have no way to know what lies ahead. But I celebrate and honor the noble ideals of the nation, even when the reality does not meet those expectation. And I will continue to pray that whatever grace God has in store for us will be made manifest, and that the grand vision of the founders will meet the grand hopes of our God and lead us to the life, liberty, prosperity, and happiness we all long for.


Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace. Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Nation, BCP, p. 258)

All Saints' Sunday | November 1, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • November 1, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Pub Theology 10/27/26 -- 'Tis the season, spooky season!

By Peter Trumbore • October 26, 2026
"From ghoulies and ghosties, long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us!" This very old folk prayer, which has been tied to both Scotland and Cornwall, used to hang on the wall of my childhood home, and it often comes to mind for me at this time of year. A little trivia -- the first known publication of this prayer was in 1926 in a volume titled "The Cornish and West Country Litany," but it is thought to be far older. That it can be traced to regions of the United Kingdom that are quite distant from one another may be a testament to its antiquity. Anyway, we're right up to the climax of what some call "spooky season," the weeks from the end of summer up until Halloween, which this year falls on Saturday. Apparently this idea of "spooky season" is a relatively recent development, becoming popular on the internet as a way to talk about stretching the adult of fun of Halloween from a single day of dress-up shenanigans to something akin to the more well-established holiday season we're now rocketing toward. This is a far cry from what I recall growing up, where more than a few of the local churches in our area very actively sought to discourage observance of Halloween, labeling it a pagan celebration of witchcraft, devilry, and superstition that was incompatible with being a good Christian. Of course that didn't really dissuade anyone. But with the holiday just a few days away, I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to talk about the nature of spooky stuff, ghoulies and ghosties, and other such things. So tell us, what do you love about Halloween? How do you mark it? Does anything give you pause? What do you think about this claim that you can't be a Christian and still participate in or enjoy Halloween? Finally, what do you make of that old Scots and Cornish prayer? What real fears do you think it reflects? And what might a modern version look like? Join us for the conversation tomorrow evening, Tuesday Oct. 27 starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost Sunday | October 25, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • October 25, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Copy of Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost Sunday | October 18, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • October 18, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Pub Theology 10/13/26 -- A series of quick hits

By Peter Trumbore • October 13, 2026
Some weeks inspiration hits and we stumble onto a single topic that has enough going for it that our Tuesday evening conversation revolves around it entirely. Some weeks, like this one, we take a different approach. Tonight, rather than chew on one big idea, we've got a couple of interesting, but generally unrelated questions to animate our discussion. We'll take them on one at a time, in no particular order, and see what develops. Nine years ago New Yorker cartoonist David Sipress drew a cartoon with this caption: "My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.” Do you experience this tension in your own life, and if so, how do you deal with it? Are you more interested in buying things, or experiencing things? How far will you go to experience something for the first time? What is an example of that? Are you a thrill seeker? An adventure traveler? Something else? Lutheran pastor and writer Nadia Bola-Weber said this: "People don't leave Christianity because they stop believing in the teachings of Jesus. People leave Christianity because they believe in the teachings of Jesus so much, they can't stomach being part of an institution that claims to be about that and clearly isn't." What is your take on this? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? Podcaster Joe Rogan: "Jesus was born out of a virgin mother. What's more virgin than a computer? If Jesus does return, you don't think he could return as Artificial Intelligence? AI could absolutely return as Jesus." OK, is he off his rocker, or do you think he might be on to something? If all else fails, what's on your mind this week?  Join us for the conversation this evening, Tuesday Oct. 13 starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday | October 11, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • October 11, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Pub Theology 10/6/26 -- Finding peace, finding God

By Peter Trumbore • October 5, 2026
It escaped my notice, so perhaps it escaped yours as well. Back on August 31, the lauded poet, farmer, essayist, and deeply influential thinker Wendell Berry died at the age of 92, in the place he loved best, his farm in Kentucky. Over the years, several of our conversations have been inspired by or touched on Berry's ideas and writings. While Berry has influenced countless Christians through his poetry and fiction, he described himself as a "bad-weather churchgoer." In the preface to his collection of sabbath day poems titled "This Day," Berry explains it this way: "But I am a bad-weather churchgoer. When the weather is good, sometimes when it is only tolerable, I am drawn to the woods on the local hillsides or along the streams… In such places, on the best of these sabbath days, I experience a lovely freedom from expectations — other people’s and also my own. I go free from the tasks and intentions of my workdays, and so my mind becomes hospitable to unintended thoughts: to what I am very willing to call inspiration.." One of the things this quote brings to mind is how important the concept of "place" was in Berry's work and, more importantly, the way he saw the world and how he sought to live in it. Way back in 2017, we talked about the idea of place, with Berry as our guide. "Belong to your place by knowledge of the others who are your neighbors in it ..." This is a very small portion of Wendell Berry's "A Poem on Hope". In his poem, "The Want of Peace," reprinted in the illustration above, Berry writes: "I lack the peace of simple things. I am never wholly in place." So in our conversation this week we're going to revisit this idea of "place," of finding it, belonging to it, and perhaps losing it. There are many ways we can think about this notion. Where do we find peace? Where do we find God? Where do we find ourselves? Where do we find our people, or our purpose? Join us for the conversation tomorrow evening, Tuesday Oct. 6 starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday | October 4, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • October 4, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Pub Theology 9/29/26 -- There's an app for that

By Peter Trumbore • September 28, 2026
You're probably aware of this already, but for years now, we've been hearing that Americans in particular are suffering from an epidemic of loneliness. Which is different from simply being alone. I think we're all aware that it is perfectly possible crave alone time without feeling lonely, and to feel intense loneliness even when surrounded by people. Sometimes this can be a result of things that are out of our control. But often, it's the choices we make in the name of convenience that lie at the heart of this. Journalist Gabe Bullard's new book, "Against Convenience," argues that our pursuit of ever faster and frictionless experiences comes with invisible costs, and that we unthinkingly accept those as the inevitable price we have to pay to make things easier, Reviewing the book in The Atlantic , writer Julie Beck argues that many of those costs are social. Beck writes: "Once you open your eyes to the tradeoff between convenience and community, you start seeing it everywhere. It’s more convenient to ride a Peloton bike at home alone than to go to a spin class full of other sweaty bodies (whom you might end up chatting with). Zoom meetings make working with distant colleagues much easier, but aren’t very socially nourishing. The gig economy is rife with this bargain. Ubers and Lyfts replace rides given by friends and trips taken on public transit. Delivery replaces meals out at local restaurants and time spent in stores of all kinds." Sometimes, she continues, the whole point of an innovation is that it allows you to do something in isolation that once required interaction with others. Think self-checkout at the grocery store, or the "quiet ride" option that Uber introduced. One of the things we regularly talk about in our conversations is the importance of community. It's why some of us come to church, or, for that matter, Pub Theology. But I think we all also recognize that we engage in this tradeoff of convenience over community all the time, and in all kinds of ways. So that's what we're going to talk about in our discussion this week. Thinking about your life, your-day-to-day, how do you experience this convenience vs. community dynamic? Sure, when we're streaming a new movie in our living room, we're trading that for sitting with a bunch of strangers in an actual theater. Or when we get our meals or groceries or other purchases delivered to our door we get to spare ourselves the hassle of interacting with wait staff and cashiers, or dodging around other shoppers blocking the cereal aisle. But what about the impact of convenience on the relationships we really care about? And what is the impact of avoiding interaction, not just on ourselves, but on society?Finally, how much convenience are you willing to give up in order to build, or rebuild, or sustain community? Join us for the discussion tomorrow evening, Tuesday Sept. 29, starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Sunday | September 27, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • September 27, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.