One Hillsborough at Hillsborough's National Day of Prayer

Words delivered by Rev. Rod Williams at Hillsborough's National Day of Prayer 2024, held at the Garden of Honor.

"These are words common to every faith and every culture:

That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another. Ancient Egypt

Do not do to others what you know has hurt yourself. Ancient India

What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either. Ancient Greece

That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself. Ancient Persia

Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you. Ancient Rome

One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self. Hinduism

What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. Judaism

The most righteous person is the one who consents for other people what he consents for himself, and who dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself. Islam

A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. Jainism

Precious like jewels are the minds of all. To hurt them is not at all good. If thou desirest thy Beloved, then hurt thou not anyone's heart. Sikhism

What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others. Confucianism

Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss. Taoism

For one would do for others as one would do for oneself. Mohism

Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself. Zoroastrianism

The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form. Shintoism

All things are really our relatives and whatever we do to them we do to ourselves. First Nation Indigenous

We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Unitarianism

That which ye deem harmful unto thyself, the very same shall ye be forbidden from doing unto another, for violence and hatred give rise to the same. Wicca

Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you. Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you. Scientology

Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. Bahá'í

Before performing an action which might harm another person, try to imagine yourself in their position and decide whether you would want to be the recipient of that action. If you would not want to be in such a position, the other person probably would not either, and so you should not do it. Humanism

One who is going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts. Yoruba

Treat others as you would want them to treat you and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated. Atheism
Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing. Paganism

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Christianity

We have called these the Golden Rule and isn’t it interesting that it appears to be a most human principle that we have seemingly all but abandoned. As we have gathered here this morning, we should all first reflect upon the humanity of all of our fellow human beings and then lament the situation in which we find ourselves today. We have not only allowed ourselves to give into our baser instincts but in many ways, we have fully enabled them by refusing to do the righteous work of standing up for that which we know to be wrong. The truly American response has never purported to be one of fear and insecurity settling for easy answers and mediocrity but one of courage and the indomitable will to meet each challenge with decency and open arms.

So, when we leave this place today, let us recommit to the golden rule and ask our God, and ourselves, for the strength to be the best that we can be as humans –bravely caring for the downtrodden, embracing those who while not showing up as we have been accustomed– are still our human brothers and sisters, and winnowing out the hate and fear that has become far too deeply rooted in this nation that has yet to reach the potential greatness that will require every single one of us to achieve. Let us live the golden rule and help the helpless, feed the hungry and food insecure, shelter the homeless and housing contested, support the mentally and physically challenged and their families, and let us come together to love and accept and appreciate each other without conditions – because we would surely want the same for ourselves…"

Rev. Rod Williams
One Hillsborough
National Day of Prayer
May 2, 2024

About the National Day of Prayer
The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". The president is required by law (36 U.S.C. § 119) to sign a proclamation each year, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.
(from the Wikipedia entry for National Day of Prayer)