Independence Day is has been listed among the holy days in the Episcopal Church since the 1928 Prayer Book.
Proper Psalms, Lessons, and Prayers were first appointed for this national observance in the Proposed Prayer Book of 1786. They were deleted, however, by the General Convention of 1789, primarily as a result of the intervention of Bishop William White. Though himself a supporter of the American Revolution, he felt that the required observance was inappropriate, since the majority of the Church’s clergy had, in fact, been loyal to the British crown. In the 1928 revision of the Book of Common Prayer, provision was again made for the liturgical observance of Independence Day.
Our eucharist in Independene Day will be held either in the Garden of Resurrection or at the Bolton Altar. Ice cream and a festive beverage will be available after the service.