An Invocation

Founded by Dr Samuel Gross of Philadelphia and colleagues in 1880, the American Surgical Association, the oldest surgical society in the United States,1 honors its societal traditions. At the opening of the annual President's Banquet, 3 traditions are observed: A toast to the Crown of the United Kingdom (in 2024, a King rather than a Queen was saluted for the first time since 1952) A toast to the President of the United States or, rarely, the people of the United States An invocation Over the past decade or so, I have been privileged to deliver the invocation (or prayer) on 3 occasions. President Steve Stain of the Lahey Clinic asked me to deliver the prayer for the 2024 banquet. This prayer utilizes the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. INVOCATION, AMERICAN SURGICAL ASSOCIATION, FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2024 A: Dear God, we come together as individuals from many faith backgrounds including some Nones. We invite You, Your Spirit to be among us tonight and going forward. C: We confess we are not all we can or should be, individually and collectively. Please keep working on and with us. "True Religion" includes taking care of the widows and orphans plus immigrants, the poor, etc. T: We thank you for meaningful work, our health, those who abetted our education, our families, plus the infrastructure, technologies, colleagues, utilities we enjoy. We thank you for the American Surgical Association with its focus on and support for science, education, safety, and quality, plus the chance to network, learn, and self-reflect. S: We pray for our world which is in a mess whether Russia/Ukraine. Israel/Palestine-Gaza, the Sahel, NW Cameroon, Sudan, and on and on. We pray for our country which is in a mess and as polarized as countries and regions globally. We pray for our US medical non-system which is also in a mess – access, affordability, anti-science and fake news re: immunizations, etc. and the ever-present threat of individual bankruptcy. Help us to address our challenges and not accept the status quo. We ask for wellness, health, and peace. Let us walk toward-- not tangentially nor away from-- the Light. Give us the strength and the will to do the requisite heavy lifting and to persevere. May we leave the world better, cleaner, and greener for our descendants. Amen.