Stones of Remembrance
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan dry-shod to begin the conquest of Palestine, God commanded that twelve large stones be piled up at Gilgal so “when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’. . . that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” (Joshua 4:22, 24) |
mericans, too, have for centuries now, erected memorials to great men and events of renown. Not all men or all events that have been memorialized signify world-changing moments in history. But some do, and few, if any, more so than the Pilgrims of Plymouth, the Puritans of Boston and the minute men and republic-builders of Massachusetts. Their descendants have done more than piled rocks in a field, though plenty of rocks there are, but they have by God’s grace, preserved the homes, the burial sites, the churches, the battlefields, and the artifacts of those devout sacrificial generations. Unfortunately, when American children today ask “what do these stones mean?” silence reigns or explanations are given that seem to come from a disconnected and alien alternative universe.
Crossing the Jordan
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The Sarcophagus on Cole’s Hill
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Walk Where the Founders Walked
God has seen fit to raise up groups such as the Plymouth Rock Foundation, and individual historians in remote classrooms to bear the torch of true remembrance, but there is even more immediate help to understand these amazing historical events and people whom God brought to the shores of New England. You can visit the exact locations, walk on the ground where the founders walked, read their words, and learn the lessons for today with the historians of Landmark Events as we tour Boston and Plymouth. We will appreciate together the verisimilitude of Plimoth Plantation as we go there at Thanksgiving-time, to celebrate the example of God-fearing, and God-thanking that has become part of the very fabric of our nation’s memory and practice.
Plymouth Rock Memorial
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The Mayflower II
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Lessons from the Pilgrims
There is even a rock of remembrance on the shoreline of Plymouth, as well as an ossuary holding the bones of those Pilgrim settlers whose lives were taken by disease and starvation the first winter. We answer the questions of why they came, what they believed, and who they were. We visit and expound the lessons on the rebuilt Mayflower, the Forefathers’ Monument and the tribute to the Pilgrim women. We look at the amazing providences of the peaceful Pilgrim relationships with the Wampanoags, contrary to the modern mythical stereotypes taught as self-evident truths today. So significant are the sites and so profound the stories of the Pilgrims, that they are in a real sense, the fathers of Americans of any ethnic derivation. They symbolize all those who left their native lands behind to brave hardship, and accept sacrifice to seek a land where families could thrive, and succeeding generations could prosper.
Freedom Trail
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U.S.S. Constitution
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The Independence Generation
Boston’s Freedom Trail is aptly named. As we follow its course, the men who pioneered the idea of a godly commonwealth, subservient to God and His law, and the men who resisted tyranny and brought about a new nation come to life once again in the graveyards, churches and battlefields. We see the connections between Scripture and the constitutional ideals of the Independence generation. We talk of John Winthrop, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, James Otis, John and Abigail Adams, George Washington, the Minute Men, Paul Revere, Dr. Warren, Betsy Ross, and many others, including their opponents, King George III, General Howe, and John Pitcairn. They all come to life through the re-telling of their stories.
Join Landmark Events historian Bill Potter and document expert / collector Dan Ford as they lead a small group of grateful people on a Thanksgiving tour they will always remember. Reserve you spot today!
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