JAMESTOWN (Father Manny)

JAMESTOWN
(c)2002, Stephanie Durand, November


Jamestown
Pilgrims of the New World
That sailed the darkness of the night
Arriving at the dawn to a new light
Setting forth unto land untoiled
For the glory of our King, the Lord, the Almighty
Faith was their guide in the wind
For the ship with the children, women, and men.
Disciples of our Lord, the glorious multitude of children
Aboard the Mayflower.
They arrived, they blessed the land
They had the world in their hand.
They build upon rock
and give thanks and praise
For the fruits of their harvest.
the soil they tilled, both with faith and hands in
God's New World.
Men of wisdom and women of faith.
Children, the fruits that they bore
Together gave praise to their Lord.
The cobblestones were placed,
The pumpkins were harvested, the grains of seeds
were planted,
For a nation.
A nation to come,
From fruits of the harvest,
The Lord's chosen apostles who bult their
Houses upon rocks of faith,
And seeds of love.
Seek first his name, and the glory
of the New World and a New Kingdom
will be fullfilled, until
the seed is uprooted.
The seed of faith,
The stones were placed,
the hands that tilled the soil,
the rocks they built upon,
will be torn down by nations,
that so gave thanks to the Pilgrims of Praise,
and honor and faith.
For the glory of the seed that harvested the
fruits of wealth and prosperity,
of great men,
of unity,
until,
man
forgets
what he
was originally
giving thanks to,
and dishonoring his
forefathers, who sailed the darkenss of the night
to see the dawn of a new light,
searching for a place to honor and glorify
their King, thier Lord, the great I Am.
So, November,
we remember,
the brave and the faithful
Apostles of God

God blessed America
In God we Trust,
Or do we? Has the seed been removed.
Have the stones been thrown to sea?
Has the soil become infected?
Have we built our homes on sand that could wash away?
Have we read the Pilgrim's story?
Have we read about their covenant with God?

November, 2002
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STORY BEHIND THIS POEM

(2002) Before I wrote this poem, I only knew a little about the Pilgrims. I knew they had fled for religious freedom, but I did not know all that I found out after writing this one. This poem became like a bible study for me. I certainly had no desire to write about Jamestown...but i kept hearing words, "Jamestown, stones,.." what? I thought. I knew it had to be written, so later that night, I put on my music, and waited...and then began to type. Nothing made sense to me (like usual) at first, as I was writing. Nothing was rhyming, and the words did not seem to match the story I knew about the Pilgrims. I just had never heard of them being "Apostles" like the Canaan's/Israel. I knew they were called "Puritans/Separatists" but not Christians. The key words that seemed important after I wrote were: Jamestown, Rock, Stones, Unity, Bringing Light to the Darkness, Apostles of God. In my search for after writing I found: they boarded that ship and said goodbye to their friends in search of a world where they could spread the Gospel, the Word of God, to others and to be an example for the whole world. The Indians were converted and their ways became more civilized and even the old asked to be saved. One asked, "Am I too old?" and they told him "No!" God blessed them with a HARVEST of food and a generation of people that would later become "the superpower"- "the melting pot"- people fled from their countries to come and get what we were blessed with - the blessings, the harvest, the fruit of the covenant that the Pilgrims made with God and sailed with faith and prayers, along with fear. They prayed for God's guidance on the sea. They knew he would lead them to the land he promised, "The Promised Land" he had chosen for them! Isn't that awesome! The "stones" I found out were His Words. The "unity" I found out was the unity of their belief and faith that they would honor Him and trust Him and let Him guide their ways. The "seeds" were not only corn and vegetables; the "seeds" were the spread of Christianity. Thanksgiving was not a celebration of food, but a celebration of fulfilling what they believed God had told them to do and now as promised to his people, he blessed them with "much food, a harvest!