A LITANY OF THANKSGIVING

Great Spirit, you have filled our lives with so much that is good:
      Food to eat,
      Homes to live in,
      Families to love, and this great world to worship in.
      Thank you, Great Spirit.

Response (by audience)

            The Great Spirit is here: celebrate!
            Fill the world with joy.
            Dance your dance, sing your song,
            Fill the world with joy.

Great Spirit, you have given us many hours of joy and happiness:
      Hours when we can run and jump, climb and slide.
      Hours when it feels good to sit and watch TV.
      Days and weekends when our friends can meet and go camping and
      enjoy being outside.
      Thank you, Great Spirit.

Response (see above)

Great Spirit, you have made a wonderful world full of all kinds of people;
      Black and white, brown and yellow,
      Tall and thin, short and far;
      People who make music and paint pictures;
      People who know about the stars or the oceans;
      People who make us laugh;
      People who help us when we are sick;
      All kinds of people; and you love us all.
      Thank you, Great Spirit.

Response (see above)

Great Spirit, we would like other people to be happy, too:
      Help us to bring joy into the lives of others.
      Help us to be kind.
      Help us to share what you have given us.

Response (see above)

Great for an Eagle Court program -!-

THE EAGLE SCOUT

A fond mother watches her boy who stands
     Apart from his comrades tonight;
As they place on his camp-battered tunic a badge,
     An Eagle, the emblem of right.
It seems just a few short months have passed
     Since he joined with the youngster next door;
How proud he was then of his Tenderfoot pin,
     As he told her the message it bore.
But the years have gone as he struggled along
     To learn what the Scout Law's about;
He practiced them daily, the Oath and Law
     Until now, he's an eagle Scout.

You may smile in your worldly old wisdom at this
     And say "Why it's only a pin,"
But I tell you no honors he'll gain as a man
     Will mean just as much to him.
The Red, White and Blue of the ribbon you see
     Are the symbols of honor and truth;
He has learned how to value these fine attributes
     In the glorious days of youth.
And the outflinging wings of the Eagle that rests
     On the breast of this knight of today,
Are the things which will lift him above petty deeds
     And guide him along the right way.

Yes, it's only a pin ... just an Eagle Scout Badge,
     But the heart that's beneath it beats true,
And will throb to the last for the things which are good
     A lesson for me ... and for you.