Class of 1961 65th Reunion

Let us pray.

Gracious God, we gather this evening with grateful hearts. Sixty-five years ago we walked out of Troy High School as young people with the whole world ahead of us, certain of many things we have since learned to hold more loosely. Tonight we come back together, older, perhaps a little wiser, and thankful to be here at all.

We thank you for the gift of this place and these people: for the teachers who were patient with us, for the friendships that began in hallways and classrooms, on ball fields and in band rooms, and for the town along the river that shaped who we became. We thank you for the long road each of us has traveled since, for the work we were given to do, the families we have loved, and the grace that carried us through the hard seasons as well as the good ones.

We remember before you, with love, the many classmates who are no longer with us. Their names and faces are part of our story, and they are part of this gathering too. Comfort those among us who grieve them still, and let our memories of them be a blessing.

Be with those who could not travel here tonight because of illness, distance, or the burdens of age. Hold them close, and let them know they are remembered.

Bless this time together. Bless the food we share, the stories we tell, and the laughter that comes so easily among old friends. Give us gentleness with one another and gratitude for every year we have been given. And send us home renewed, knowing that the bonds formed long ago in Troy still hold.

In your holy name we pray. Amen.