Independence Day Prayer Service in Oakhurst, CA

Before the barbecues and fireworks begin, join your neighbors for a once-in-a-generation milestone.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States, and Christ Church Anglican invites the Oakhurst community to a special morning dedicated to prayer, thanksgiving, and living history.

Event Schedule

• Saturday, July 4 at 10 AM – A traditional service of Morning Prayer & Thanksgiving (Inside the Sanctuary)
• Immediately Following – 250th Anniversary Reading of the Declaration (On the Church Porch)
• Location: Christ Church Anglican | 40447 Redbud Drive Oakhurst, Ca 93644

A Service of Gratitude & Revolutionary History

• Prayer & Thanksgiving: We will gather inside the sanctuary at 10:00 AM, lifting up our nation in prayer and giving thanks for the enduring blessings of liberty, peace, and community.
• Words from Chaplain John Hurt: During the service, we will hear words from the Reverend John Hurt, an Anglican clergyman who served as chaplain to Virginia troops during the Revolutionary War and is often regarded as the first chaplain appointed to the Continental Army.
• The 250th Porch Reading: Following the service, we will step outside. In July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was delivered to the public by being read aloud from the porches and steps of local churches. We are keeping that exact tradition alive for this landmark anniversary by reading the document in full from our church porch.

Start Your Saturday Festivities With Us

Whether you are a local resident or visiting the Sierra foothills for the holiday weekend, our doors are open wide. The entire event is family-friendly and will wrap up around 11:00 AM—leaving you plenty of time to head out for your afternoon lake plans, family barbecues, and fireworks.

Join us as we give thanks to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty, pray for our nation and its future, and hear once again the words that changed the course of history.

Click for Directions & Contact

Christ Church Anglican
40447 Redbud Drive
Oakhurst, Ca 93644

A Prayer for Independence Day

O God, whose Name is excellent in all the earth, and thy glory above the heavens, who as on this day didst inspire the direct the hearts of our delegates in Congress, to lay the perpetual foundations of peace, liberty, and safety; we bless and adore thy glorious Majesty, for this thy loving kindness and providence. And we humbly pray that the devout sense of this signal mercy may renew and increase in us a spirit of love and thankfulness to thee its only author, a spirit of peaceable submission to the laws and government of our country, and a spirit of fervent zeal for our holy religion, which thou hast preserved and secured to us and our posterity. May we improve these inestimable blessing for the advancement of religion, liberty, and science throughout this land, till the wilderness and solitary place be glad through us, and the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. This we beg through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.     –  1786 American Book of Common Prayer