< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #30, THE WENTWORTHS O Gracious, Creator, Father of us all: please help us remember with honor and gratitude the many sacrifices that were made by the Wentworth family as they lived in slavery while aiding in the creation of institutions of learning which were not open to them. Let us find ways to repay their families for their willingness to serve in the military for a country that did not recognize them as…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #29 HAZEL COLBERT SINCLAIR and CLAYTON SINCLAIR SR O God who welcomes friend and stranger to your table and abhors any need for a “Green Book,” we remember today Hazel and Clayton Sinclair whose love for one another created a home and a place of safe welcome for those who found no room other inns; may we, like them, open our hearts to those who have been hurt by discrimination and exclusion; through…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #28 CAESAR BRADISH Thanks be to you, O God, who calls us to be builders of welcoming communities, we remember today Caesar Bradish and his wife who welcomed many into their home; we pray that we may remember and never forget the spirits of all those who preceded us, both slave and free, who have shaped the communities in which we now live; through Jesus Christ our Lord who knows us each by…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #27 MEL BOLDEN O God whose grace knows no boundaries we remember today, your servant, Melvin Reid Bolden who knew threw art, journalism and political action how to do some “shakin”; may we use our gifts to honor our heroes, lift up our communities and take actions that benefit all for the greater good; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. DAY #27, April 5, 2019 LOUDON & CONCORD, NH MEL BOLDEN (1919-2000) Cathy…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #26 CATO WALKER O God, whose foster children inhabit the entire world we remember today, Cato Walker, his wife and his son, James Bryant; here we see in these your children the open heart of humanity that honors diversity without discrimination and enriches the lives of many generations. May we never forget that we, too, hold this gift and in Cato’s spirit pass it on as he did; through Jesus Christ our Lord.…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #24 HAYWOOD B. BURTON O God of light and dark, who often moves unseen in the lives of your faithful disciples, we remember to the “Black Mayor of Portsmouth” Deacon Haywood B. Burton, who moved quietly in the lives of many in the community as a witness to your love for all; may we honor Haywood by seeing in him your guiding hand in his willingness to build not only a community of…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #23 JOHN G. CUTLER O God, who welcomes and embraces us, we celebrate the life of John Cutler, whose life was one of hospitality. His work created opportunities for many to work and for others to rest, he welcomed the stranger, and he fought for his local community. Like John, may we use our freedoms to support our own communities. May we enjoy friendships with people from all walks of life. And may…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #22 FOREVER UNKNOWNS Jesus, who called Mary by name at your resurrection; we hold up, with broken hearts, the knowledge that countless of your children were deprived of their given names and identities, their families and their lives, through racism and enslavement; by your Spirit grant that we do more than mourn them. Give us courage and strength to see every friend and stranger as sacred and known by you. Help us to…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #21 REV. JEFFREY CAMPBELL God of all Wisdom and Universal Love, your Son Jesus Christ promises the establish of a “new heaven and a new earth where all people of the earth are siblings of one Creator, and yet we too often choose to struggle in the Hell of separateness rather than rejoice in the bliss of your loving kindness; Grant us grace, following the example of the Rev. Jeffrey Campbell, to proclaim…
< 2019 Lenten Program Overview Collect Day #20 MARGUERITE (CAMPBELL) DAVIS Almighty God, whose son Jesus when encountering the Woman at the Well, crossed over the boundaries of race and ethnicity, causing alarm among his disciples; We give you thanks for the steadfast faith of Marguerite Campbell Davis whose own family endured racist violence in New Hampshire and who also endured the whispers of suspicion even within her own faith tradition as a result of her inter-racial marriage, and she…
