Welcome to Politics by Faith, our Thanksgiving Week edition here.

I want to read a little bit from John Robinson. John Robinson was the leader of the Puritans

in Holland before they set sail to the new world. So they were in England, and then they went to

Amsterdam for about 12 years to flee the king and persecution there. They were in England, and then they went to Amsterdam for about 12 years

to flee the king and persecution there. And then they said, this isn't good enough because

Amsterdam is corrupting our youth. So we're going to go to the New World. I want to read two things

here. The first is a description of the departure from William Bradford.

And then I want to read from a letter that John Robinson wrote to the pilgrims,

the Puritans, they called themselves separatists back then,

so wrote a letter to his fellow separatists who were off on the journey.

Let's start with William Bradford's account of leaving.

So being ready to depart,

they had a day of solemn humiliation. Their pastor taking his text from Ezra 821. It's great.

He gave a sermon on the boat. We'll get to Ezra in a little bit. But Ezra 821. And that at Ye River by Ahava, I proclaim to fast that we might humble ourselves before our

God and seek of him a right way for us and for our children and for all our substance, upon which

he spent a good part of the day very profitably and suitably to their present occasion.

The rest of the time was spent in powering out prayers to the Lord with great fervency

mixed with abundance of tears.

How about that?

Powering out prayers.

That sounds very like moderate evangelical.

We're going to power some prayers.

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