04 July 2016

BLESSINGS! BLESSINGS! BLESSINGS!




(An Invocation delivered by the Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler, Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip, for the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia, 4 July 2016)

Blessings, Blessings, Blessings! From all over America, from all over the world, we gather this day for the blessings of running and rejoicing.

Most of us are runners, but some of us are not. Some of us are believers in God, but some of us are not. We are wheelchairs, we are walkers, we are runners, we are elite, we are not-so-elite, we are ordinary, and we are extraordinary.

But, today, we are One. We are One today, believers in the Peachtree Road Race, and its ability to gather all sorts and conditions of humanity in blessing America on this Fourth of July.

Blessings to Muslims: Asalamu Aleikum!
Blessings to Jews. Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu!
Blessings to Christians: Christ bless you! Benedicite Deus!
To Hindus, to Buddhists, to atheists, to agnostics!
God blesses each and every one of us.  Dios les bendiga!

May this Peachtree Road Race be safe and fun, may it be challenging and relaxing. May today be a holiday, a holy day, of blessing and grace, of vigor and energy!

In the Name of God, and in all the Names of God, the God above us and the God beside us, the God at the starting line and the God at the finish line, we bless each other.

We are One today, united in energy and peace, hope and freedom. In the running of the Peachtree Road Race today, in Atlanta, God bless all of America.

AMEN.


The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler

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