James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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draper, September 25, 1919 LMIGHTY GOD, author of light and life, we exalt Thy name and invoke Thy blessings. ur hearts would praise Thee for all Thy gracious gifts. Y thank Thee for life and hope; for youth and aspiration; for truth to leam and for work to do. We thank Thee for this place Hi ' learning — for this school and all that it means in us who have been here in former years; for all that it will mean to those who arc now here fur the first time. We thank Thee fur tin- stable government of our state and fur the vision of our fathers, who have fostered and protected school and church and home. We thank Thee for these encircling mountains, which speak of time and everlasting strength. We thank Thee for the glory of the dawn and the radiant beauty of the sunset, as we view them from these hills. We thank Thee for the joy and courage that friendship and g ! fellowship give US here from session to session and from year to year. And now as we look out this morning, we see new tasks and new friends before us. We see, as it were, a new world thai calls us. We see the nations in unrest, waiting, in ignorance it may he. for the peace and justice of ( iod. Help us, a- we work here, to serve the people and to honor Thee. Help us to he good citizens of our state, of our nation, and of the world, that our life and work here may he a beginning, a fair beginning, of our life and our citizenship in heaven with Thee. In the name of our Lord and Savior, we pray. Amen.

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draper, September 28, 1909 LMIGHTY G )D. we acknowledge Thee as Creator of the world, of angels, and of men; as the source of life, of knowledge, of truth, and all virtues. We rejoice that Thou art also our Father, who dost love us, and we pray that in the person of the Holy Spirit Thou wilt be our constant guide, and in the person of Thy Son our constant Teacher. May Thy gracious providence compass with mercy all our lives and destinies, and may Thy ministering spirits, which are sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation, bring to us wisdom for every decision, courage in every struggle, and hope for every day. We come to Thee, Our Father, with a special plea. This hour for all of us gathered here is an hour of special moment, and we voice a special prayer. This hour has hovered in our visions, and lias been longed for with fear and trembling, yet with a stirring fulness of hope and joy. It is an hour full of meaning to us all, and to the men and women who shall stand here and work here in the years to come. This hour is at once a goal and a beginning: a goal of toilsome progress and the beginning of a glorious work. We give Thee thanks for Thy mercies and blessings, and pray that Thy favor may continue to smile upon us, and that Thou wilt crown our labors with full success. Bless all who have labored for this school hitherto, and all who shall labor for it henceforth in any capacity. Bless the school ; may it become a sacred place - — a shrine, as it were, devoted to liberty and to truth. Standing upon this hilltop, under the rising sun, may it grow as a mighty oak or a cedar of ancient Lebanon, and in its shelter may health and gladness abound. Like the hills and mountains round about it. may it be strong and steadfast ; like the skies that smile above it, may it be boundless in its compass and ever full of light; like the hills and plains that surround it. may it be both fruitful and beautiful ; like all the works of right- eousness, may it be fostered and blessed of God. Give these, Thy servants who teach, knowledge and wisdom and power; give the Trustees of the Commonwealth, who shall direct us. foresight and wise discretion ; may all labor unto Thy glory and the good of mankind. And now, O Ford, as we end our petitions, we voice one more special prayer. Bless these young women in their lives and in their work. They hold in their hands the cure of many ills, the key to many joys; and they, ion, are standing at this hour in the dawn of a great future. The skies are bright above them, and hope calls them forward. Give them grace and strength and wisdom, ( 1 ,ord, and guide them into usefulness and all those forms of special service for which Thou hast so richly endowed them. Give them hearts of love and sympathy and sin- cerity, and through them bless the land- the State, the Nation, the World, for Jesus Christ ' s sake, Amen.

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