I know that “America the Beautiful” has been in our hymn books as long as I can remember, but I don’t think I’ve ever really thought of it as a hymn to God. After all, it is stuck at the back of the hymn book (#338) with the likes of the “Star Spangled Banner” (#340) and “God Save the King” (#341), and we tend to dust it off in summer and forget abut it the rest of the year.
So that song’s status as a hymn has just not impressed itself on my mind and heart, the way say “I Stand All Amazed” has and does.
That is, not until Tuesday evening.
Immediately following the invocation at her nephew’s Eagle Scout court of honor AnnaLisa Stratton sang the hymn, solo and a capella. Her rendering of the hymn – all four verses – was as much a prayer as the invocation offered by her brother-in-law, Lance. He had prayed, among other things, for a spirit of patriotism to be felt by those present.
When AnnaLisa concluded “America the Beautiful,” there was a silence and a discernible spirit of God and country so strong, that for several seconds no one moved (if they even breathed) until Eagle Candidate Cameron Nettle’s soccer coach Donny Matticks started clapping and urged all to join.
That spirit tangibly invoked the theme of Cameron’s court of honor. It is a theme expressed in the Scout Oath, which begins “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country….”
On the patriot side of things, Cameron’s uncle Scott, a fighter squadron commander in the U.S. Air Force and himself an Eagle Scout, recited the oath as he spoke of God and country and of leadership.
The Oath also speaks of helping other people and of obeying the Scout Law, a collection of 12 principles to guide moral behavior. Cameron’s grandfather, Lorum Stratton, himself a former Scoutmaster, gave a demonstration on the Scout Law. Aided by six Scouts in his demonstration, Grandpa Stratton identified in Cameron’s life 12 men who exemplified each one of those virtues until all 12 virtues were described.
Cameron’s high school soccer coach spoke of Cameron’s leadership and teachability. Another of Cameron’s uncles – Jess Karren, who was cited by Grandpa Stratton as an exemplar of bravery in his service as a peace officer – provided the benediction.
It was a lovely way to spend an hour or so of a Tuesday evening, and inspired gratitude for the blessings of God, of this nation, and of the Boy Scouts of America.