By Paul S. Gardiner

When America’s Constitution was being debated at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin reportedly said, “The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see that God governs in the affairs of men.” President Ronald Reagan once stated, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

Absent any unforeseen national catastrophe, America will joyfully celebrate its 250-year birthday on July 4, 2026. Receiving God’s grace entails getting what one does not deserve, and receiving His mercy entails not getting what one does deserve.

America’s semiquincentennial celebration undoubtedly will require much early planning and thoughtful consideration of different events and festivities to take place over the course of July 4, 2026. Hence, the need to begin planning for the important event suggested herein.

Plans to celebrate America’s 250th birthday need to include a special gathering in the nation’s capital, where citizens from throughout the nation come to seek and thank/honor God. This special gathering could be similar and perhaps exceed the “Stand in the Gap” gathering of men that occurred on the National Mall on October 4, 1997. The climax of this gathering was when all the attendees, over one million men, fell face down to the ground praying for God’s forgiveness for the sins of the nation and thanking God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon America.

Similar to the 1997 gathering, the nation as a whole needs to again seek God’s forgiveness for the sins committed against His creation and natural order. These sins include the following:

— medical mutilation of thousands of America’s youth;
— massive moral decay and financial corruption of many of the nation’s people and leaders;
— efforts to destroy God’s plan for traditional two-parent families;
— murder of millions of preborn babies;
— failure of many pastors and worship leaders who deliberately avoid teaching about God’s justice and wrath for unconfessed and unrepentant sin but teach only about His love and forgiveness.

The attendees at the gathering would:

— praise God for His holiness, goodness, and faithfulness;
— confess America’s many sins;
— humbly pray for God’s forgiveness of these sins;
— express sincere thanks for God’s blessings on America;
— pray for God’s continued blessings on the nation. 

Thus, it is suggested that on or about July 4, 2026, the proposed special gathering take place on the National Mall in Washington, DC, to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Furthermore, citizens living in each of the 50 states who are not able to travel to DC should also plan and locally hold such gatherings on or about July 4, 2026, as a sincere demonstration of faithfulness and dependence on God’s forgiveness and blessings.

Paul S. Gardiner is a retired Army officer, Vietnam veteran, and avid lover of America. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Alabama, and the U.S. Army War College.