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- Great words for kids from two Colonial-era Americans.
- America’s favorite song—do you know what it is?
- Meet Samuel Francis Smith, and learn how God led him to make a very special contribution to our country.
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| Joined by Mexico's President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President Bush visited the Chichen-Itza Archaeological Ruins during his visit to Mexico this week. Photo courtesy of the White House. |
- President Bush has been in Cancun, Mexico meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, discussing several issues of great concern to all three countries, including how we can keep our borders safe and manage people who want to come into our country. So it’s a great time to pray for the President as he meets with these good friends of our country and as they discuss a number of important concerns. Pray that God will guide them into very positive ideas and plans and that the President will return home to the U.S. safely.
- Speaking of our borders with other nations, the members of Congress are working very hard on the issue of immigration right now. They have several proposals before them, so it’s a terrific time to pray for them as they consider this important issue, asking God to powerfully intervene and help them see the very best way to improve the situation. Pray that God will give them His wisdom, help and guidance so they can create the best law for America that will serve the greater good. Pray for special wisdom on how to handle the issues of guest workers, border security and criminalization of illegal immigrants.
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| President Bush’s White House Chief of Staff, Andy Card is stepping down from his position after more than five years. On April 15 he will turn the inner workings of the White House and the President’s schedule over to Josh Bolten, the new Chief of Staff. Both men would really value our prayers. Photo courtesy of the White House. |
- Do you know who Andy Card is? You should! We have been praying for him ever since he began serving President Bush as the White House Chief of Staff in January 2000. Earlier this week, Mr. Card decided to step down from this important position, and he will be helping the new person, Josh Bolten, learn all about how he organizes the President’s schedule. It’s good to pray for Andy Card as he moves away from this position, that he will feel the gratitude of the President and all his staff as well as the nation. We can also pray that he will be led by God to a fantastic new opportunity to serve our country, and that Josh Bolten will have God’s wisdom and help as he steps into his new job.
- The men and women of our military work so hard—around the world and across America—to safeguard our freedom and to train for excellence. They really count on us to pray for them, that God will protect and strengthen each one, asking Him to develop godly character in them. We can also pray that they will have enough of everything they need to do their jobs well, whether it’s equipment, food, time, rest or friendships and support. Pray, too, for the kids of our military families who have been left behind while a mom or dad goes away to serve, that they won’t be too lonely or afraid and will find great comfort in the loving presence of God.
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| Chaplain Black portrait courtesy of the United States Senate. |
Chaplain of the U.S. Senate--Rev. Barry Black
Rev. Barry Black serves our nation as Chaplain of the United States Senate. Appointed in June 2003, Rear Admiral Barry C. Black (Ret.) served in the United States Navy for more than 27 years, ending his distinguished career as the Chief of Navy Chaplains.
Rev. Black opens each Senate session with prayer and makes himself available to the members of the Senate, their families and their staffs—that’s a “congregation” of over 6,000 people. He works to assist them with their spiritual needs, providing counseling, Bible study and spiritual advice. On occasion Chaplain Black will be called on to advise senators on moral issues, researching from the Scriptures.
Barry Black was raised by a single mother in inner-city Baltimore, Maryland, and attended two historically black schools, Pine Forge Academy in Pennsylvania and Oakwood College in Alabama, on his way to becoming a preacher. As a pastor in North Carolina, he met a group of sailors who had driven miles to attend his church because there were no black chaplains on their naval base. This prompted Black to help with that need. Seeking to pursue military chaplaincy, he rose to the rank of Rear Admiral, commanding all the chaplains of the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. After retiring from military service, he was called to ministry in the Senate.
Rev. Black is the first African-American, the first Seventh-day Adventist, and the first military chaplain to hold the office of chaplain to the United States Senate. He is the 62nd chaplain of the Senate, the first having been appointed in 1789. He is married and has three sons.
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| Photo of Father Coughlin courtesy of C-SPAN. |
Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives—Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin
Rev. Daniel Coughlin is a Chicago born and bred priest, serving in the Catholic Church since he was ordained on May 3, 1960. He served a variety of parishes in the Chicago suburbs and in the city, including the magnificent Holy Name Cathedral. In 1984 Fr. Coughlin took a one-year sabbatical For five months he lived with the Trappist monks of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky and then worked with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. Can you think of another PPT leader we pray for who spent time with the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta? Hover here to read.
After his sabbatical, Fr. Coughlin was a scholar-in-residence at North American College, Vatican City in Rome, Italy. Following those studies, he returned to Chicago and served in a parish, a retreat house and in the Archdiocese offices.
When it was time for Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to find a new chaplain for his fellow congressmen and women, he asked Cardinal George of Chicago for help. Father Coughlin’s name came up and he was approved. He was sworn in as the fifty-sixth Chaplain for the 106th Congress on March 23, 2000.
As Chaplain of the House, Father Coughlin has huge responsibilities to the many members of that body. He must exercise great sensitivity to the many diverse religious backgrounds represented in Congress. He also presides at many functions, offering prayer and counsel when needed.
I love the Lord because He hears and answers my prayers. Because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!
—Psalm 116:1-2
Long ago the Lord said to Israel: "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with tambourines.
—Jeremiah 31:3-4
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| Noah Webster image courtesy of christianlaw.org |
Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country
--Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788
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| Portrait of Joseph Story courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania. |
Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence.
--Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution, 1833
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| Portrait courtesy of the Library of Congress. |
No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with the gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us.
--Theodore Roosevelt
Did you ever stop to think about how music influences our country? Attitudes, opinions, what people think is cool and what they think is not cool—all those things can and are influenced by popular music.
In this week’s Update, we’re learning about a very popular song that influenced America strongly when it first came out over 170 years ago. And the amazing thing is—kids and grownups alike still sing this song today! Talk about popularity! And the best thing is, the song ends with a prayer—that makes it a great song for PPT Kids to learn about!
The song is My Country ‘Tis of Thee. It’s a great song that Americans have sung for many years. It speaks about some of the wonders that are so easy to take for granted about America, like the freedom that we enjoy, or the beautiful mountain and woods that many Americans get to see every day. My Country ‘Tis of Thee is a song proclaiming many of the wonderful things about America—some would call it a tribute or a paean.
Did you ever wonder where this song came from? Perhaps you know that the melody is a very popular tune used by many nations for their songs of national tribute—especially by Great Britain and known as God Save the Queen (King)—a tune that came to Colonial America as early as 1761. But did you know that the man who wrote the words was a very godly man—a pastor and missionary, in fact, and he wrote the words on a scrap of paper in a matter of minutes.
Did you know that there is a surprise final verse of My Country ‘Tis of Thee? The final verse of the song is actually a prayer—it is a prayer that specifically asks God’s blessings on America while proclaiming that God is our great ruler and King!
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| Portrait of Samuel Francis Smith courtesy of cyberhymnal.org. |
Rev. Smith was a devout young man who was born in Boston, MA in 1808. He attended the first college preparatory school in America, the Boston Latin School, and then entered Harvard. Samuel felt a call to serve God, so he entered Andover Seminary in Boston to train to become a minister. After he finished, he was ordained as a Baptist minister and pastored churches in Maine and Massachusetts while teaching college to supplement his income.
Smith wrote the words to My Country ‘Tis of Thee while he was a student at Harvard. To make extra money, Smith worked translating letters, articles and literature from German to English. One day, a friend handed him a German hymnal and asked him to translate a German patriotic song. Smith was so moved by the words, he decided that America needed a similar hymn—one that sang the praises of our nation. Being a godly man, Smith was quick to turn the song into a prayer that acknowledged God’s guiding hand on America.
He wrote the song on a small scrap of paper, right then and there, and said years later that the words which took only a few minutes to write and brought joy to generations were never changed from that time on. Here are Samuel Smith’s own words:
I instantly felt the impulse to write a patriotic hymn of my own, adapted to the tune. Picking up a scrap of waste paper which lay near me, I wrote at once, probably within half an hour, the hymn ‘America’ as it is now known everywhere. The whole hymn stands today as it stood on the bit of waste paper.
--Samuel Francis Smith
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| It was in a Sunday School class at historic Park Street Church in Boston that “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” had its debut on the 4th of July, 1831! Photo courtesy of nanosoft.com. |
The song had its debut on July 4, 1831—can you guess where? In a church!—in Sunday School, in fact. Park Street Church in Boston, founded in 1809, has stood for many years across from Boston Common as a tribute to the godly faith of the people of Boston. In special children’s service at Park Street Church, Lowell Mason (the man who showed the German hymnal to Smith in the first place!) debuted the song, and children loved it right away.
In fact, the song caught on with the American public very quickly. Soon people were singing it all across the country and in foreign lands as well. For years, it was sung as a beloved hymn to America. Rev. Smith had many neat experiences as a result of being the author of My Country ‘Tis of Thee. Here is one of his stories as told by cyberhymnal.com:
Dr. Smith visited the Board of Trade in Chicago [Illinois] in May of 1887. While sitting in the gallery he was pointed out to the some of the members. Soon he became the center of considerable notice. All at once the trading on the floor ceased, and from the wheat-pit came the familiar words, “My Country ’Tis of Thee.” After two stanzas had been sung, Dr. Smith arose and bowed. A rousing cheer was given by the men on the floor, to which Dr. Smith was now escorted by the secretary of the Board. The members flocked around Dr. Smith and grasped his hand. Then they opened a passage through the crowd and led him to the wheat-pit, where they took off their hats and sang the rest of the hymn.(Courtesy of cyberhymnal.com.)
Another neat thing happened to Rev. Smith a few years later. Because of the success of his patriotic hit, a big celebration was planned to honor him in April of 1895. The people of Boston gathered and My Country ‘Tis of Thee was sung while the United States Marine Band played. Even the governor of Massachusetts was there! He introduced Smith to the audience, and he gave a speech. The Smiths were given a gift of $2,000, and a famous artist was commissioned to paint Smith’s portrait. This was a very special honor to the minister who had served the Lord all his life.
As the popularity of the song spread, people were singing it all over America, from coast to coast. This picture shows the cover of an 1861 collection of patriotic songs that included My Country ‘Tis of Thee. It’s interesting to note that the French flag is shown on the cover and La Marseillaise (the French National Anthem) is featured in the book.
Can you think why an American song collection would pay tribute to a French patriotic song? Hover here for one answer.
Rev. Smith’s song became very popular and was well known by most Americans throughout the 1800’s. Why? There are probably many reasons. Remember that people didn’t have television or even radio. Entertainment was found where you made it—in your parlor, at church or in a town park. And Rev. Smith’s song captured a strong sentiment about America by first singing the praises of our nation, and then by turning the song into a prayer. Many Americans still relied on prayer and believed that our Nation needed God’s help—especially during the Civil War years—so the song perfectly summed up those feelings.
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| This song sheet shows how one Civil War era publisher used both Rev. Smith’s words, and the words from a popular hymn set to the same tune, right on the same page. That way, people could sing both! Image courtesy of the Library of Congress. |
Here are the words to My Country ‘Tis of Thee. Read them and see how they make you feel.
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees,
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
Our fathers’ God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.
Click play, below to hear a modern instrumental arrangement of My Country ‘Tis of Thee.
QUESTION 1
When you read the first verse of Rev. Smith’s song, which of these statements best explains the ideas he expresses?
- Rev. Smith thinks America is great because many people have died there.
- Rev. Smith thinks America is great because the Pilgrims were such pride-filled people, they make everyone else proud.
- Rev. Smith believes that so many incredible things have happened in America to bring about our freedom, we should sing with joy about the great liberty we are blessed with.
QUESTION 2
In verse two of his song, Rev. Smith wrote words that continued to express a great love for our country. Which of these statements expresses his feelings?
- Rev. Smith is proud to be a citizen of America.
- Rev. Smith has traveled and seen enough parts of the country to know that it has many, many different kinds of beauty, from great rock formations to little streams to woods so majestic and tall, they make him feel like he is in church.
- Rev. Smith feels that the love he has for his country is similar to the love he feels when he worships God.
QUESTION 3
Read Rev. Smith’s fourth verse. Which statement best explains what he is trying to say?
- Rev. Smith believes that only might and power will help America to be good, so we must become the strongest nation we possibly can.
- Rev. Smith believes that America will remain free as long as we have plenty of light bulbs to keep our streets bright at night.
- Rev. Smith believes that God is the author of our freedom and he calls on God to protect America while he acknowledges that our country is definitely under His rule.
It’s neat to look at the life and memories of a special American like Samuel Francis Smith. He contributed much to America, and we are grateful for his legacy. But we want to be sure we don’t miss the point—that our love for a song like My Country ‘Tis of Thee is because the song points us to God. So remember, every time you sing that song, to pray for our nation and for our President—because that’s what PPT Kids are all about. We pray for America, and we rely on God to help and strengthen our country, just like the Founding Fathers did.
And we also want to remind you to be very thoughtful and wise when you choose what music you listen to! Be sure that you pick songs that encourage you and build you up—songs that point you to God and His goodness, not music that is discouraging or dark or that goes against any of God’s principles or values. This way you can honor Him in all your ways, just like the Scripture says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.
--Proverbs 3:5-6
On Saturday, November 16, 1895, Samuel Francis Smith died and you can probably guess the name of at least one of the songs that was sung at his funeral—that’s right—My Country ‘Tis of Thee.
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