The service continued with the U.S. Ambassador, Louis Susman, reading President Obama’s Thanksgiving Declaration. He then made some of his own remarks. By the sound of things, he’s planning on retiring soon. You heard it here first. You can hear the Declaration and his speech here.
The Thanksgiving prayers were led by a group that included two teenagers and a former member of Glendale Pres who is now the Director of Student Ministries at the American Church in London. There were a few memorable bits:
“For setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you, Lord.”
“For disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on your alone. We thank you, Lord.”
And then we got to sing “America the Beautiful”! After watching the marines bring the flags in, it was really cool to sing: “O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!”
The hymn was followed by the sermon by John D’Elia, the Pastor of the American Church in London and the person who invited us to London in the first place. You can read his sermon here.