March 7th  Sermon

"Tend Your Garden"

*Today’s reading comes from page 8; the First Book of Thomas Jefferson Chapter 2 Verses 1-10 from his notes on Virginia recorded between 1781 & 82.

1The poor Quakers were flying from persecution in England.  2They cast their eyes on these new countries as asylums of civil and religious freedom; 3but they found them free only for the reigning sect.  4Several acts of the Virginia assembly of 1659, 1662, and 1693, 5had made it penal in parents to refuse to have their children baptized; 6had prohibited the unlawful assembling of Quakers; 7had ordered those already here, and such as should come thereafter, to be imprisoned till they should abjure the country; 8provided a milder punishment for their first and second return, but death for their third; 9had inhibited all persons from suffering their meetings in or near their houses, 10entertaining them individually, or disposing of books which supported their tenets. 

These are the words of Father Thomas Jefferson.

*Our second reading comes from page 21; the third book of
James Madison Chapter 2 verses 3-16.  It is a letter he wrote in 1822 to Edward Livingston who is know by many as the “The first legal genius of Modern Times”.

3there remains in others a strong bias towards the old error, 4that without some sort of alliance or coalition between Gov^t & Religion neither can be duly supported.  5Such indeed is the tendency to such a coalition, and such its corrupting influence on both the parties, 6that the danger cannot be too carefully guarded ag^st.  7And in a Gov^t of opinion, like ours, 8the only effectual guard must be found in the soundness and stability of the general on the subject.  9Every new & successful example therefore of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters, 10is of importance.  11And I have no doubt that every new example, will succeed, as every past one has done, 12in shewing that religion & Gov^t  will both exist in greater purity, 13the less they are mixed together. 

14We are teaching the world the great truth that Gov^ts  do better without Kings & Nobles than with them.  15The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, 16without than with the aid of Gov^t.

*These are the words of Father James Madison.

BCG:

Thank you Citizen Krueger

How are you doing today Citizens?

Today we are going to look at

Our American Heritage

Our American Traditions

Our American Roots

What are they?

What is tradition?

Having had the pleasure of touring 4 colleges

During my 15 year pursuit of an undergraduate degree

Which I might add I am graduating in May

But during my College tour

*I got the opportunity to experience Texas A&M University

I was and I am

A Texas Aggie

Gig ‘em

Farmer’s up!

It stays in your blood

Because A&M isn’t a college

It’s an experience

It’s an experience because you learn and live Tradition

*Howdy Citizens

That’s the official greeting of Texas A&M

Howdy

Let me hear your “Howdy”

Howdy

You can do better than that Citizens

Give your neighbor a good ole Texas Howdy

Howdy

It just feels good

It has to be one of the friendliest campuses I’ve ever attended

Unless you step on the grass

That’s another Tradition

Around the MU or the Memorial Union

The grass is considered Sacred

*It’s a way of respecting their dead

Once a year they have a Tradition called Muster

A memorial for all the Aggies that have pasted

It is celebrated in over 400 location worldwide

They honor their ancestors at Texas A&M

Another A&M Tradition is standing during Football Games

If you’re in the Student section

You not allowed to sit

During the whole game

*Trust me I found that out the hard way

And they don’t have cheerleaders

They have an all male squad of yell leaders

Now if you have ever attended a Texas A&M game

It is amazing

The entire student section is standing

And performing cheers

But there are those who don’t participate

In the Aggie Traditions

And they had a name for them

The 2 percenters

*That means you just go to school

My friends used to refer to me as skim

Because I didn’t even show up to class half the time

My parents aren’t here are they?

But that’s what tradition creates values

Texas A&M has a very apparent system of values

They started as an all men’s Military College

And they are proud of that tradition

And their values reflect that pride

*As Americans where is our pride

Where are our values

Where are our Traditions

Are you proud to be an American?

I know some days it can tough

There are many who believe

We have lost our traditions

We have lost our Heritage

We have lost our roots

And because of this

We have lost our Pride

And I agree

I agree

We have lost it

And we need to get it back

Some point to the deterioration of our Religious Traditions

Prayer has been banned from public schools

The Ten Commandments have been deemed illegal

And we have all heard of the War on Christmas

What has happened to our American Heritage?

1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue

Colony after colony settled America’s fertile soil

Seeking asylum

Seeking Shelter

Seeking The Tree of Tolerance

We learned these stories

From our Parents and Grandparents

Our Teachers

Our Preachers

At Home

At school

At Church

The message was crystal clear

America was a Christian Nation

America was a Religious Nation

America was a Refuge

The land of the Free

Where all were accepted

With open arms

Come

Come to America

Where you are free

Free to worship as you please

Free to live as you please

Free to be Free

It was something we could be proud of

How many of you Citizens heard these stories growing up?

I know I did

These stories also came with a warning

If we lost our Christian Heritage

If we lost our Religious Traditions

If we took God out of our Government

We would lose our Moral center

We would lose our Greatness

We would fall from grace

And America would be lost

Right now America is lost

We are a country of 2 percenters

We just live here

And expect everything to be fine

So how can we get it back?

How can we rediscover America?

How can we reclaim our Pride?

By knowing where we come from

What clues have our ancestors left us?

By looking at our Past

What mistakes can we avoid?

By Understanding our History

What stories do they have to tell?

Our Founders

Our Fathers

Our Founding Fathers

Father Jefferson begins today’s lesson with a familiar story

Turn with me to Page 8

*1 Jefferson 2:1&2

1The poor Quakers were flying from persecution in England.  2They cast their eyes on these new countries as asylums of civil and religious freedom;

2They cast their eyes on these new countries as asylums of civil and religious freedom;

America was an asylum

An asylum of civil and religious freedom

So our Ancestors fled

They fled to America

1The poor Quakers were flying from persecution in England. 

Flying from Intolerance

Flying from Religious Injustices

Flying to

The land of the Free

Like many in America

My family has a similar story

Luckily my dad is Mormon

They claim me too

I was pushed under the water when I was 8

Being a Mormon

My Dad keeps me abreast

Of all the latest

In our family’s genealogy

You see Mormons have this certain obsession with Genealogy

It involves a thing called Baptisms for the dead

That’s whole ‘nother sermon

But as the family story goes

Some of my relatives where Mennonites

Which are like the Amish, but different

But like the Amish and the Quakers

They came to America to escape

To escape persecution in Europe

*In 1712 King Louis XIV “The Sun King”

Issued an edict against

the Anabaptist or Mennonites in France

So under a cloud of religious persecution

The Goldschmidt migration to America began

We started off in Switzerland

And things didn’t work out so well there either

You think we hate the French

It’s not a new concept

They forced us to packed up

My ancestors could have stayed in Europe

*But they heard of this new land

A land where they would be free

Free to worship as they pleased

So my great-great-great-great grandfather

Chriss Goldschmidt

Found his way to America

That’s my family story

It’s a familiar story

It’s a uniquely American Story

Like Jefferson’s story about the Quakers

*1 Jefferson 2:1-10

1The poor Quakers were flying from persecution in England.  2They cast their eyes on these new countries as asylums of civil and religious freedom; 3but they found them free only for the reigning sect. 

they found them free only for the reigning sect.

*That doesn’t sound like the land of the free to me

4Several acts of the Virginia assembly of 1659, 1662, and 1693, 5had made it penal in parents to refuse to have their children baptized;

*That’s not what I could call religious freedom

5had made it penal in parents to refuse to have their children baptized;6had prohibited the unlawful assembling of Quakers;

It was illegal to be a Quaker?

This wasn’t the story I learned

From my parents and grandparents

My teachers

*My preachers

6had prohibited the unlawful assembling of Quakers 7had ordered those already here, and such as should come thereafter, to be imprisoned till they should abjure the country;

This wasn’t the America I was taught

At home

At School

*At church

8provided a milder punishment for their first and second return, but death for their third;

This wasn’t the America I knew

We were the land of the free

This land is your land

This land is my land

This land was made for you and me

*Unless you were a Quaker

8provided a milder punishment for their first and second return, but death for their third;

9had inhibited all persons from suffering their meetings in or near their houses, 10entertaining them individually, or disposing of books which supported their tenets.

This wasn’t America

America was a Christian Nation

And Quakers were Christians

Weren’t they?

It shouldn’t matter

*What happened to Freedom of Religion?

they found them free only for the reigning sect.

7 of the 13 original Colonies had established religions in their constitutions

All of them Christian

But these were established by England right?

No these laws where upheld and defended

Well past the defeat of England

And one of the strongest defenders

And proponents for maintaining these establishments

Of Christianity

Was the popular war hero

*And Christian Nationalist

Patrick Henry

“Give me Liberty or Give me Death”

After the Revolution

A new war emerged

The Federalists vs anti-Federalists

Patrick Henry vs Father Madison

And their battles were prolific

But Patrick Henry knew how to use his popularity

He could throw a stump on a corner

And within minutes have the streets packed with people

He was a man with Religious conviction

After one such encounter Father Madison is recorded as saying to Father Jefferson

“If we have to be pious about the situation, maybe we can pray that he dies”

One of their most documented battles was over

Patrick Henry’s proposed Bill

Establishing a tax for the support of Christian teachers in Virginia

*In it he begins

Whereas the general diffusion of Christian knowledge hath a natural tendency to correct the morals of men, restrain their vices, and preserve the peace of society;

He believed like many today that without Christianity

The state would lose its moral center

And it would lead to the destruction of peace in society

So he created a bill

A bill that would support Christian Teachers

One of America’s first Faith Based Initiatives

A voucher program for Christian Teachers

But Father Madison struck back

He struck back with a pamphlet

A Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments

And it was a knock out punch

Which led to numerous petitions

And over 10,000 signatures

Defeating Patrick Henry’s Bill

What did this pamphlet reveal?

What caused the Early Christian Colonists

To turn against their popular war hero

And Christian supporter?

Why didn’t they just declare America a Christian Nation?

In his pamphlet Father Madison addressed this notion

Of declaring America a Christian nation

And in it we discover the heart of the Quakers dilemma

Turn with me to page 14

*2 Madison 1:12&13

12Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, 13may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christianity, in exclusion of all other Sects?

This was the wall the Quakers had run into

I was a wall they recognized

And it wasn’t a wall of separation

It was a wall of incorporation

It wasn’t a wall of separation

It was a wall of incorporation

See what Father Madison understood

Was that Government is ruled by law

And through its authority, “the law”

A government is defined

The Rule of law

So if you wanted to declare America

A Christian Nation

The Government would have to define Christianity

It would have to define it through law

It would have to define it through its authority

Because that’s the nature of the Government

*The Rule of Law

12Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, 13may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christianity, in exclusion of all other Sects?

It wasn’t that we couldn’t become a Christian Nation

But if we did

Our government would have to make a decision

By what authority

By what law

Would the government choose to define Christianity?

Would it choose the Protestant definition?

Would it choose the Catholic definition?

Would it choose the Baptist definition?

Would it choose the Mormon definition?

They also believe they’re Christians

So they’re in the running too

Better start learning your genealogy

Hope you don’t like Coffee or Coca Cola

Because like what happened to the Quakers

It would become illegal

Nothing against the Mormons

That’s just the way government works

Just look at the History of England

Depending on which king or queen was in power

Determined which definition of Christianity

Which authority

Which Laws

The government of England used

Protestant

Catholic

Protestant

Catholic

And if you were faithful to the wrong sect

At the wrong time

Or a slow learner

You lost your head

It was a watershed moment in America’s History

Father Madison had shown America the light

Father Madison had shown the Colonist

Our ancestor’s

Where the road of incorporation leads

And 10,000 Christian Colonist stood up

They stood up

And they said No

They said No to Patrick Henry

They Said No to his Faith Based Initiative

They said No to his voucher program

They stood up and said

God is ours

And not our Government’s

God is ours

And not our Government’s

Do I have a witness?

Amen

Praise the Constitution

*12Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, 13may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christianity, in exclusion of all other Sects?

But these experiences are foreign to us

We are removed from the history of the Colonist

We are removed from the memories of England

We are removed from the personal knowledge of persecution

And it shows Citizens

*It shows

This Christmas when I was

Visiting my Grandparents in Arkansas

My Grandpa Bob told me about

A sermon his preacher had recently given

It was about the early Colonist

And how a majority of them where Christian

Which is true

His sermon was centered around

Several Religious Proclamations made by Congress

The Proclamations held praises

Of Jesus, God, and Christianity in general

And like a good Citizen

Who we could all learn from

My Grandpa Bob was preparing to send

Copies of these proclamations to his representatives

Because if Congress could proclaim our Christianity back then

Why couldn’t his representatives make the same proclamations today?

I asked him if I could see the Proclamations

Sure enough they were congressional

Sure enough they mentioned Jesus, God, & Christianity

But then I noticed the dates

The latest one was from 1785

I asked my Grandpa Bob

When was the Constitution Ratified?

He wasn’t sure

And suddenly I was no longer positive

So we found a Farmer’s Almanac

Who here knows what year our Constitution was Ratified?

The Constitution, Our God, The supreme law of our land

Was ratified in 1789

Praise the Constitution

Amen

In 1789

4 years after the last Congressional proclamation of Christianity

Upon finding this out

My Grandpa Bob had to hold off

On sending the Proclamations to his Congressmen

Because as he put it

“They sort of lost their steam”

They lost their steam

Because things changed in 1789

In 1789 America was reborn

We became a born again nation

And in order to save ourselves

We had to cleanse ourselves from the past

We had to cleanse ourselves from the sins of England

We had to cleanse ourselves from the old error

The old error that had destroyed many a nation

Many a country

Turn with me to page 21

*3 Madison 2:3-6

3there remains in others a strong bias towards the old error, 4that without some sort of alliance or coalition between Gov^t & Religion neither can be duly supported. 

But if a majority of America is Christian

What is so wrong?

What is wrong with a few proclamations of Christianity

They aren’t hurting anyone

They can only help

That was Patrick Henry’s argument

*Father Madison retorts in verses 5&6

5Such indeed is the tendency to such a coalition, and such its corrupting influence on both the parties, 6that the danger cannot be too carefully guarded ag^st.

If you think it can’t hurt anyone

Just ask the Quakers

The law provided a milder punishment

for their 1^st and 2^nd return

But death for their third

*America wasn’t Free

We had to make it Free

Let me hear you citizens

Repeat after me

America wasn’t Free

We had to make it Free

One more time Citizens

America wasn’t Free

We had to make Free

Do I have a Witness?

Amen

Praise the Constitution

*5Such indeed is the tendency to such a coalition, and such its corrupting influence on both the parties, 6that the danger cannot be too carefully guarded ag^st.

We had to learn to avoid that danger

We had to learn to avoid the old error

We had to learn to avoid the corrupting coalition

Every summer I spend a few weeks at my Grandparents farm in Arkansas

*As you can see I really enjoy my time with them

I do

It’s a whole different lifestyle

They are both up at the butt crack of dawn

My Grandpa Bob feeds his Cattle

And my Grandma Kathy tends her gardens

I can only dream of being in their shape

At their ages

But a few years ago my Grandma Kathy had to have

A double bypass heart surgery

Her doctor told her

If she didn’t bring her cholesterol down

She was going to be in trouble

So he gave her some medicine

But the medicine made her groggy

And she couldn’t tend her gardens

Now let me explain my Grandma Kathy’s gardens

She probably has 2 acres of flower alone

I got the pleasure of helping her plant day-lilies one year

She literally has hundreds, hundreds

Can I say that again?

Hundreds of them

And they only bloom for one day

She loves her Flowers

So she dumped the meds

And made one of the most dramatic changes in diet

I’ve ever witnessed

She became a vegetarian

Out here in the city that’s not such a big deal

But my Grandpa Bob

Kills two Cows a year to feed the family

Or at least he used to

That’s red meat for breakfast

Red meat for lunch

Red meat for Dinner

And red meat for snacks in between

They love their red meat

But Grandma Kathy loved her Flowers even more

So she dumped the meds

And became a vegitarian

Now you should see her vegetable gardens

Oh, it’s a vegetarian’s paradise

There’s nothing like fresh fruit and veggies

Now this last summer I was being a good grandson

I was helping my grandma tend her gardens

And as we were going through her Vegetable garden

I happened upon a beautiful flower

Actually several of them

So I past them by and continued to pull weeds

My Grandma Kathy stopped me

“You missed some” she said

Where?

Right there

The flowers?

No

In a vegetable garden they are weeds

*“In a vegetable garden flowers are weeds”

And then I noticed how the gardens were separated

They were no where near each other

Actually her vegetable garden

Was on the complete opposite side of the property

Next to the tennis court

It’s not that she loved her flowers better than her Veggies

She love them both

But in order for them to survive

In order for them to grow to their fullest potential

They had to be separated

Which brings us back to Father Madison

Who was a faithful Baptist

A Christian

Who understood

As beautiful of a flower as Christianity was

It became a weed the moment it was mixed with Government

Page 21

*3 Madison 2:9-13

9Every new & successful example therefore of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters, 10is of importance.

A perfect separation is of importance

But they’re just a couple of flowers

They’re not going to hurt anything

What if I leave just one?

It’s pretty

Neither Grandma Kathy nor Father Madison would allow it

Be it Flowers and Veggies

Or Government and Religion

If they are both to survive

If they are both to reach their fullest potentials

A perfect separation

Is of importance

Amen

*Father Madison Continues in verse 11-13

11And I have no doubt that every new example, will succeed, as every past one has done, 12in shewing that religion & Gov^t  will both exist in greater purity, 13the less they are mixed together.

So Father Madison lifted his pen

And He smashed the wall of intolerance

He smashed the wall of persecution

He smashed the wall of incorporation

And he erected a wall of separation

He smashed the wall of incorporation

And erected a wall of separation

*A perfect separation

9Every new & successful example therefore of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters, 10is of importance.

In the beginning there was government and religion

*Father Madison said:

1 Madison 2:1 [1 Amendment]

1Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

He saw religion and it was good

Father Madison divided religion from government

And he called it The United States of America

Like Night and Day

They were destined to never see each other again

Government and religion were separated

As the 1^st amendment came to pass

Amen

Praise the Constitution

This wasn’t an anti-religious proclamation

It was a pro-religious protection

Father Madison was in search of perfection

*He was in search of purity

religion & Gov^t  will both exist in greater purity, 13the less they are mixed together.

This is what separated us

This is what made us different

This was the Pride of America

Father Madison planted the fruits of our Freedom

And he planted them in separate gardens

Citizens like our ancestors

Like the early Colonist that defeated Patrick Henry

It is time

We tended our garden

Every flower

Every proclamation

Every small Religious seedling

That falls into the garden of our Government

Threatens to choke our Roots

Our American Roots

I know it’s beautiful

Religion is Beautiful

But in our garden

In our Government

Religion is a weed

Because Religion belongs to us

It belongs to We the People

Or as the early colonist proclaimed

God is ours

Not our Governments

We must tend our garden

Rise Citizens

Rise and stand

Stand with me

Lady Liberties

[Lady Liberties Passes out Flowers]

*We need to Tend our Garden Citizens

Let me hear you say it

What do we need to do

Tend our Garden

Again Citizens

What must we do?

Tend our Garden

And why must we tend our Garden Citizens?

*Because like these flowers

God is ours

Not our Government’s

Repeat after me

God is ours

Not our Government’s

One more time Citizens

Let ‘em hear ya in Washinton

God is ours

Not our Government’s

Do I have a witness?

Amen

Praise the Constitution

*This is America’s Pride

This is what makes us different

Our Religion

Our Flowers

Are Ours

If you want 1 flower

If you want 20 flowers

If you don’t want any flowers

It’s your decision

It’s your right

It’s our pride

We the People

Need to take our pride back

We the People

Need to tend our Garden

And how do we tend our Garden Citizens?

If someone tells you that their religion says

That God created the earth

Then that’s a lesson for Sunday School not Public School

We need to tend our Garden

If someone tells you that their religion says

That Homosexual Marriage is against God’s law

Then it should remain God’s law Not Man’s law

We need to tend our Garden

If someone tells you that their religion says

That a fetus has a soul

Then that’s a matter of spiritual regulation not federal regulation

We need to tend our Garden

Because

God is ours

Not our Governments

Do I have a Witness?

Amen

Praise the Constitution

Please be seated

This was Father Madison’s lesson

This was a lesson not only for us citizens past and present but for the world 

He wanted the world to see what he had created

His baby was beautiful and he was a proud Papa

How many of you citizens are parents?

Raise your hands

How many of you have nieces or nephews?

*Its okay, show your pride

Here’s my niece Madeline Belle

She turns 4 in April

Do you remember the day they were born?

Remember how it felt?

*Remember wanting to share them with the world?

Show them off

Your child

Your niece

Your nephew

This is how Father Madison felt

He was proud of America

Let’s go to Page 21

*3 Madison 2:14-16

14We are teaching the world the great truth that Gov^ts  do better without Kings & Nobles than with them.  15The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, 16without than with the aid of Gov^t.

We need to heed the lessons of our Ancestors

Or we will be doomed to repeat

The mistakes of the past

15The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, 16without than with the aid of Gov^t

I just found something out yesterday

That demonstrates why we have to be vigilant

Why we have continue to Tend our Garden

Currently there is a Bill pending in Missouri aimed at

*Re-instating prayer in public schools

House Concurrent Resolution No. 13

It begins.

Whereas, many citizens have found the reasoning behind the practical results of court decisions relating to school prayer difficult to understand since the 1962 U.S Supreme Court decision Engel vs. Vitale

They’re argument is that we must re-instate School Prayer

Because the reasoning behind it is confusing

If they knew Father Madison Lesson

*It wouldn’t be to confusing

Religion flourishes in greater purity, 16without than with the aid of Gov^t.

But we are removed from the history of the Colonist

We are removed from the memories of England

We are removed from the personal knowledge of persecution

Citizens weeds just don’t go away

Do they?

If you only had to pick them once

Gardening would be easy

But they keep popping up

And they are going to continue

To keep popping up

That’s why we have to continue to Tend our Garden

*And Follow the lessons of Father Madison

a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters, 10is of importance.

America wasn’t Free

We had to make it Free

In 1789 The United States of America started a new Tradition

In 1789 the United States of America created a new

Heritage

In 1789 The United States of America planted new roots

These roots are our values

*And these values are the root of our pride

Citizens I challenge you today

To be proud of America

Be proud to be an American

And don’t be a 2 percenter

Tend your Garden

Teacher your fellow citizens

Why they need to tend their gardens

So that America can live up its Traditions

Its Heritage

Its Roots

Its Values

Our Pride

Our Pride

Rise Citizens

Rise and Pray with me

Thank you Father Madison

Thank you for opening our eyes

Thank you for showing us the key

May we not keep these unlocked secrets to ourselves

But share them with our fellow citizens

We as members of the UCA

The United Church of America

We hold a great responsibility

Father Madison

Father Jefferson

Father Paine

Well call upon your strength

Help us on our journey

Help us through these days of trials and tribulations

As we strive to reintroduce your words

Your wisdom

To the whole world

In the Constitution we pray

Amen